The Boy in the Crimson Cloak
by JuiceboxNinja
Summary: Everything has just begun to calm down after the latest crisis has been dealt with, but the peace is not fated to last. A rainy scuffle leads to a series of bigger and bloodier confrontations, pitting the school against unknown adversaries. Will the boy in the blood-red cloak be an ally or an enemy? only time can tell as he fights both his old foes and himself.
1. Stranger on the Stairs

_Howdy reader, This is my story with a little (Or lot) of OC involved. It is more based on the anime than the manga, but there will be parts of both involved._

_ Anyway, enjoy._

The DWMA towered above the dismal city as the downpour grew. The streets had a thin sheen of water covering them as people went about their business. Umbrellas and hoods dotted the streets as people made their way to their predetermined destinations, all the while the DWMA stood silently as if it were a watchful protector.

"This isn't cool at all, this is really bringing down the mood." Soul said, staring up at the torrent. He and Maka stood at the edge of the steps of the DWMA, overlooking the peaceful city below them.

"well what's there to do about it?" Maka asked, carefully making her way down the soaked stone slabs, "it's not like we can control the weather."

Soul smiled at the notion, "don't say that around Black Star, you know how he'd get."

Maka spun around striking a pose with both arms over her head flexed, and in her best impression of Black Star shouted, "Even the weather must obey their god! I can do anything!"

Soul let out a low chuckle in response to Maka's mockery, "man your impressions suck. Let's get home before we get really drenched."

The pair continued their walk down the stairs with only the rhythmic splashing of rain to fill the content silence.

It was only few months after the defeat of the Kishin and things seemed to be returning to normal, or whatever proximity the school held as normal. Kidd obsessing over the symmetry of everything, Black Star proclaiming his godliness as Tsubaki quietly tried to calm him down, Blair being a complete pain in the ass every second she could get away with, Soul taking shots at Maka's "physique" while in turn Maka would deck his head in with whatever hefty book she happened to be reading at the time.

_Things are finally back to the way that they always were_, Maka thought in content. They'd almost reached the halfway mark to the base of the steps when something caught her eye.

A boy passed the duo on the steps. wearing a glossy, red trench coat, with the hood pulled up over his head. Maka didn't know why but the coat sent her really bad vibes, she had no recollection of anyone at the school having anything quite like the shiny, crimson veil.

Not only was the odd trench coat a slightly unsettling shade of red, a crimson that seemed to reflect the color of blood. But the coat seemed very worn for the wear, the pattern of the coat alone would've sent Kidd into a seizure. Black, needle-like patches of cloth seemed to tangle and branch around the coat, as if it were binding in the glossy, crimson material. The scratches and scorch marks also brought mild unease to the Meister. They weren't normal scratch marks, like scuffing it on a table or closing it in a door; there were claw marks, something that had talons or claws. And whatever creature it was, it was angry.

Resting against the boy's back was an old ratty knapsack. Easily as beat up as the coat; it didn't look full, but it certainly wasn't empty.

Maka felt complete unease at the sight. Her step faltered and she nearly tripped on the slipppery steps. Soul felt the disturbance and turned to his Meister with a confused look on his face. Maka's eyes followed the red cloak as it made its way up the stairs, it didn't take long for Soul to notice what was causing her distraction.

Soul's eyes followed Maka's gaze and found the same target. Maka could feel a sudden shift in his soul as he laid eyes on the mysterious figure. She could almost feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as a low growl escaped his sealed lips. Neither of them felt right about figure.

There was a big group of new students that came today, she thought to herself, maybe he just showed up later. Her mind raced as she tried to find some sort of relief to her quickened blood and unsettled mind. She was nearly a natural at reading people, she wouldn't feel this way if there wasn't a reason. Without any further options, she decided to try and read his soul.

She felt her eyes change as she focused on the slow moving target. Everything faded away as she focused more and more on the boy in the cape, until nothing was left but the red.

Her hands balled up into a fist. How is that even possible? She thought, there was only one other time this had happened. Her head slowly shaking in disbelief.

Soul caught on fast to the signs she was giving.

"Maka, what's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

Maka turned her attention to soul, holding eye contact for a few moments; without saying a word she nodded and turned to follow the boy in the cape up the steps. Soul had no choice, he couldn't leave Maka like this. Whatever she had seen, had scared her; it had scared her a lot. He followed Maka, quickly catching up to her.

"What is it? Tell me what's wrong!" Soul hissed.

Maka glanced at him with wide eyes before returning her attention to the boy.

"... His soul." she said quietly.

"Yeah, what about it?" Soul asked, a chill running down his spine.

Maka stopped as she reached the top of the stairs. The boy was now standing still in the center of the courtyard, starring towards the group of new Meisters and weapons. She turned to Soul, shaking ever so slightly.

"I didn't see one."


	2. A Dance in the Rain

_Hello again, i originally wrote these two separate entities but the were a bit short that way, so now they are one homogenous monstrosity._

* * *

><p>Soul stood next to Maka at the top of the stairway. Maka had noticed the boy first, but the second Soul caught a glimpse of him he immediately felt uneasy about the character. But something wasn't right at the moment, there was something different about the kid. <em>What could have possibly changed?<em> Soul thought, _ he was only out of our sight for a few moments._

The boy had reached the end of the stairs before Maka and Soul, but not by much. What had he managed to do in such short time?

The knapsack.

Soul saw it now, the knapsack that the boy had had draped over one of his shoulders was now gone. Soul scanned the area, it couldn't have gone far. After a quick glance, he let out a low growl; there it was, leaning against one of the pillars.

Maka caught on quick, she followed Souls line of sight directly to the bag. Whatever reason he had for coming here couldn't be good.

Why would someone leave their bag in this pouring rain? If he was going to go inside he would've taken it with him. Soul nudged Maka, Maka turned to her partner and they knew exactly what they had to do. Soul transformed quickly, he stayed suspended in the air for a brief moment as Maka quickly swept him up.

* * *

><p>Maka carefully made her way towards the boy; in the heavy rain it would be hard for him to notice her, but she didn't want to take any chances.<p>

Suddenly the doors to the academy opened, stopping Maka out of surprise. Even from fifteen yards away, Maka could easily see the boy go rigid underneath the swaying coat. Out of the academy stepped the new recruits, many stretching from the time they spent sitting listening to the introductions and explanations. No one really noticed the boy; a few broke away from the group to the corners of the courtyard, while others stayed talking to friends. Slowly, a few eyes turned towards the boy. A chain reaction occurred as more and more student's eyes were drawn to the sight.

A bellowing laugh joined with the sound of the torrential rain. A young boy broke off from the pack, they couldn't have been older than nine; A little badge on their shirt read "Meister". He slowly began walking towards the cloaked visitor.

"I never thought you would be so persistent!" the recruit shouted at the figure.

The covered boy didn't reply. Instead, he shifted his right arm and a few long objects fell into his hand. His hands moved in a blur as they deftly assembled the object. Now, the boy held in his hands a long staff. The recruit laughed even harder.

"So that's why you came?" he shouted over the rain, "if that's the way you want it."

The boy snatched a short combat knife from a sheath strapped to his boot. Holding the blade next to his face, he stared back towards the boy with the staff.

"Shall we dance?" he asked.

The boy in the center of the courtyard brought his staff down into his left hand, readjusting his right hand lower on the weapon. He slowly advanced on the young boy, while in turn the recruit started walking towards his attacker.

With only fifteen feet of distance between the two, each lunged. The recruit's blade slammed against the staff with impressive force, but the older boy stood his ground. Shifting the staff in his hands, the boy deflected the knife while simultaneously sending his opponent off balance. He quickly maneuvered himself behind the recruit and swung the staff in a vicious right arc.

The recruit's blade was a blur as it caught the staff just inches from the top of his head; the recruit brought down the blade, slicing the staff at the end and bringing the remaining part of the staff in the boys hand to the ground with it. The recruit spun around and extended his empty hand, landing a powerful blow to the boy's sternum. The boy staggered backwards, lifting the now sliced staff back to his left hand.

"you're so weak." the recruit shouted smugly, "why don't you use your full power?"

The older boy rushed at the recruit, the end of his staff skidding on the ground. The recruit swung his dagger in a wide arc horizontal to the ground; it would've done serious damage if it had made contact, but the boy slide underneath the knife. Springing to his feet and whirling around to target his enemy. The spot on the staff where the recruit had sliced had unfortunately caused the staff to become pointed; the boy used this to his advantage driving towards the recruit.

The recruit spun around and side stepped to try and avoid the punishing blow. The staff only caught a small part of his side, causing a cut through his shirt and dealing minimal damage to his skin.

The recruit and the boy lunged at one another repeatedly, bouncing to each other and away again; as if the two were magnets, constantly switching polarity. Each clash brought on small injuries; a punch to the gut, a kick directed at the head which was caught by the forearm, a swipe at the calves. No great damage was being done, but the fight was intense.

A boy from the group of recruits got fed up with watching the conflict. His weapon in hand he tried to attack the older assailant from behind, only for the older boy to side step at the last moment avoiding the would-be blow.

The other recruit swung out at the boy in anger.

"GET OUT!" he screamed in rage, "THIS IS OUR FIGHT!"

Surprisingly, the older boy jumped in front of the other recruit; pushing him out of the way. The blade came down, raking against his right shoulder which caused the boy to cry out in pain.

The staff swung around clipping the recruit in the side of the head, hurtling him across the courtyard before the recruit slammed into the ground and slid on the sheen of water for a few more feet.

The recruit shakily rose to his feet, griping the arm he had landed on.

"You can't beat me like this, you know that!" the recruit screamed at the boy.

The boy turned, his face now in view of Maka. The boy was grimacing, whatever the recruit meant by his remark it clearly wasn't something that the boy wanted to do. The boy raised his staff once again, wincing as his right shoulder rotated. Even though he had managed to save the other recruit, the blow that he had been dealt was deep and obviously painful. In comparison, the attack he had issued was nothing. The boy was trapped in a corner, if he didn't do what the other boy was hinting at, he would surely lose.

The boy inhaled a deep breath. _His mind must be racing_, Maka thought. The look on his face was one that Maka knew well, it was the face she made whenever she was stuck in a bad position; running through all the possible scenarios and the consequences of each of them. The boy closed his eyes and exhaled. When he opened them again any doubt he had was gone. His frown showed that whatever decision he had arrived at wasn't something he enjoyed. He shifted and something changed.

Maka's eyes widened, she knew now why the boy didn't want to do what the recruit was implying. She knew why the action would help him win the battle. It all became clear when the boy disengaged his soul Protect.

This was suicide. There was no chance of him getting out of this, the boy was at best suicidal and at worst psychopathic.

The only thing Maka could wonder was 'why?', what was there to gain from this fight?

The mood had shifted violently in the courtyard, all the recruits were now much more tense. Any minute now, the courtyard would be flooded by meister's and their weapons; all trying to get at the witch in front of them.

The boy rotated his right shoulder, wincing from the effort. sliding the staff out of his left hand while dropping his right arm to his side; he extended his left arm, his left hand clenched in a fist. The boy's left hand opened in an instant, the recruit on the ground rolled away as the place he had been standing a moment before burst into flames. The shock wave of the blast sent him tumbling forward. The boy's left hand tracked the boy as spot after spot exploded in flames.

The recruit dashed towards the stairs in an attempt to flee from the witch, heading right towards Maka.

A wall of fire erupted between the two meisters, blocking off the recruit's escape path. The wall of flames was kept at bay by the torrential rain, giving Maka just enough sight the witch approach the recruit. The recruit was in a corner, his blade laying level in front of his face he prepared to fight.

The witch moved decisively and quickly, grabbing the recruit by the throat, lifting him up into the air while simultaneously slapping the blade from his hand. The staff was now positioned just below the boy's throat, ready to strike at any moment.

The witch's eyes were filled with hatred, contempt, and malice. His mouth formed a disgusted frown as he glared at the recruit.

"Is this how it's going to end?" the recruit asked, tears in his eyes. The young boy's face was a mixture of fear and sadness, "are you going to kill me?"

The witch changed. His once solid expression shifted, his dead set frown was now a gaping mouth as if he were trying to find words. His eyes were filled with confusion, and Maka could have sworn that she saw a sort of brotherly love.

"I... I..." the witch stuttered as his hand around the boy's throat loosened. The witch was shaking his head, as if he couldn't believe what was happening.

"You're a fool." the recruit said, lifting up his legs and kicking the witch away from him. The witch flew through the air, landing on his back with a crash. He slowly rose, grasping at his right shoulder; as he was unlucky enough to have fallen on the same shoulder that had been previously wounded.

The recruit hopped up, grasping at his knife on the ground. He rushed forward, throwing a feint attack to the witch's right as he himself rolled to the witch's left. He sprung up just behind the witch's bad shoulder, slashing low and dealing a punishing blow behind the witch's right knee. The recruit sidestepped and positioned himself behind the witch's other shoulder, striking down with force at the witch's left temple.

The witch crumpled to the ground, reaching up to his head. The recruit quickly restrained both arms and pinned the witch to the ground.

The witch looked up; there was no fear on his face, only regret.

"You were always deceitful," he spoke, his voice shaking, "why did you do it?"

The recruit's eyes showed no hint of emotion as he spoke, enunciating every word, "why should I answer to you?"

The dagger in the recruit's hand shot down. Time seemed to slow as the blade closed in on the witch's throat; the witch merely closed his eyes and waited for the dagger to pierce his neck. Before anyone was sure what was going on, metal collided against metal.

Maka stood at the side of the two enemies, she had used Soul to deflect the killing blow. The recruit looked up at her with deadly contempt.

"Why did you do that!" he shouted.

"I... I don't.." Maka breathed. She had no idea why she had intercepted the blow, it was as if she had reacted out of instinct.

The witch's eyes shot open. He looked up confused, he was expecting a strike that had yet to come. Maka looked from him back to the recruit, who was still seething in anger.

The doors to the academy burst open as Stein exited the building.

"I felt a witch's soul, is there a problem?" he asked worried. His eyes darted around the courtyard, they eventually found Maka and the recruit. Maka was still unsure as to why she had saved the witch, there was just something wrong with the picture to her. The recruit looked from Maka to the professor, the anger still very visible on his face.

The witch was breathing hard, much to hard for it to just have been caused by the fight. He craned his head to see what new variable had entered the equation. The recruit looked back down at the witch with disgust, with his empty hand he slammed down; knocking the witch out.

He stood up, glaring at the unconscious witch as Stein made his way towards the triplet.

"My, my. What have we here?" stein said, stooping down to the witch, "I wonder if I'll get a chance to dissect him?"

The recruit looked incredulously at Maka and Stein.

"first she stops me. And now you want to keep him for a science experiment?" he asked.

"Well," Stein started, lighting up a cigarette "I came out her initially to stop whatever threat there was. But it seems to have been taken care of."

Stein gestured at the unconscious witch on the ground, while still attempting to light his cigarette. After another failed attempt he stared up into the sky disapprovingly, as if he was blaming nature.

"She stopped me." the recruit said, pointing a finger at Maka, who in turned looked at the ground avoiding eye contact.

"So she did." Stein said, angling his head slightly to the right.

His hand slipped to his head and slowly started to turn the screw clockwise. Looking down at the witch, his mouth turned up into a devious smile.

"But what do we do with you?" He thought aloud, slowly remembering that he was with other people he looked up.

"Alright, you can go back to the dormitories," He said, pointing a finger at the recruit, "Meanwhile, Maka. If you would be so kind as to help me get this one into the dungeon."

Maka nodded and turned to give a hand to Stein when something jumped to mind, She released her grip on Soul who promptly returned to human form.

"Soul, could you give Stein a hand?" She asked.

Soul nodded and stooped down to the motionless body, sliding one of the witch's arms over his shoulder and lifting his half of the body while Stein took his share.

Maka turned and walked to the start of the steps, picking up the raggedy knapsack. She turned around to follow the guys inside, but came face to face with the recruit; whose eyes were still blazing with contempt.

"I won't forget this." He said, before turning back to the academy and heading towards the dorms.

Maka couldn't help but feel slightly disturbed by the menacing comment the recruit had issued. She shook her head to clear her mind. She half skipped through the rain to get to the shelter of the academy. Once inside, she shook what rain she could off of her body.

She turned to the stairs and headed down to the dungeons. Catching up to the professor and Soul was relatively easy, considering the deadweight that they were dragging between them.

Stein glanced toward Maka as she made her way towards them. The knapsack caught his eye for a moment, Maka could tell Stein was resisting asking about it for the moment.

Maka quietly followed the two as the dragged the witch to a cell, Stein pulled out a key from his pocket and slid it smoothly into the keyhole. With a quick twist the cell door sprung open.

After placing the witch inside, removing his trench coat, and Stein applying cuffs to the boys arms ('For safety purposes' as Stein put it, but Maka had a hard time believing that they would do much of anything if the witch came to), Stein pointed to the knapsack while drawing a cigarette from his pocket.

"Where exactly did you find that?" He asked, placing the cigarette in his mouth.

"It's the witch's" Maka stated as Stein pulled out his lighter, "He just left it at the top of the stairs."

Soul shifted uncomfortably at Maka's side.

"What exactly happens now?" He asked.

Stein inhaled a long draw off of his cigarette, exhaling it into one of his skull shaped clouds.

"Well," He started, "the only thing we can really do now is alert Shinigami and wait for him to wake up."

* * *

><p><em>For some reason, I can't seem to find a way to write action sequences right. Either I give too much information and shake off the intensity or I do too little and know one knows whats going on; I can only hope that the fight scene was adequately written. Anyway, thanks for reading, tune in in a while for more.<em>


	3. A Rude Awakening

A spinning room, ringing ears, and pounding headache greeted him as he came to. He wasn't sure if he couldn't feel anything or if he could feel everything. His head felt as light as a feather and as heavy as a brick at the same time. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it but immediately regretted it when it rewarded him with a piercing pain. He tried to remember what exactly had happened. scanning his thoughts for some hint.

Nothing was coming immediately to mind, but he did notice that his arms were behind his back and his hands were bound together at the wrists in some sort of old-fashioned wooden clasp. Whatever he had done it had gotten him in some sort of trouble.

He tried to stand up but fell back down on the lumpy mattress, choosing instead to sit on the edge of the bed. _Baby steps_, he thought. He looked around; a bare, stone room was all that met his eyes. He inhaled deeply before letting out a pitiful sigh. He tried again to delve into his memory, it came to him blurry at first but in time it grew to be more clearer.

Rain. A lot of rain. Coming down hard all around him. The stone steps leading up to the... something. He groaned again, trying to clear his thoughts was not easy, his head still ached. He could remember bits and pieces of the past week, the planning, the exuberant feeling he got when he thought about the task, and then... something. Whatever it was it was on the tip of his tongue, suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

_That's right,_ he thought. His stomach lurched again, making him want to spew up what little he had eaten that week. _Catching a flu after all this time invested. Pathetic._ He thought.

His eyes blurred for a second, slowly returning to normal. He was about to shake his head again, but quickly remembered what had happened last time. He resorted to lying down on his side. _So much for baby steps,_ he thought.

His mind was a mess, he couldn't make sense at all of what was going on. He tried remembering again, focusing on the rain.

A heavy rainfall, he could hear it running down the outside of his hood. A slow, painful walk up the stairs. He should have been beyond ecstatic about the task at hand; he didn't know what the task was, but he knew it was something he should have loved. A pair of people that passed by him on the stairs, for some reason they sent chills down his spine and a deep fear in his heart. _Odd,_ he thought, _why would I be so scared of them?_

Ignoring the fear of the duo for the time being, he focused again on the memory; not wanting it to slip away again.

He felt a quick shiver, as he past them. _Please don't notice me,_ he had thought as he made his way further up the stairs. They may have thought that they wouldn't be heard in the downpour, but he had noticed. His fear became a stone in his already aching stomach and a lump in his throat. _Maybe they aren't going back up the stairs because of me,_ he woefully thought, _maybe they forgot something inside._

He tensely took the last few steps as he reached the top, sliding his knapsack carefully off his shoulder he placed it gently against a pillar.

It and its contents were extremely precious to him, he remember that much.

He continued on to the center of the courtyard, the courtyard was all he could see, ahead of him was a blurry, dark mist. Only moments later, the duo were behind him on the stairs. He didn't want to go any further, but he couldn't turn back after all of this work.

Out of the black mist came a sound of an opening door. Shortly after, voices filled the void. It went on for a while, all this time he stayed motionless. Time seemed to move slowly as the voices broke away bit by bit.

The near silence was broken by a deep laugh; someone was moving towards him, through the fog a figure shifted. Breaking through the edge he heard a voice.

_ "I never thought you would be so persistent!"_

His eyes shot open, the memories flooded back in. the fight, that damn mistake, his... cowardice.

He had had the perfect chance, just one movement could have brought this whole damn thing to a neat and tidy end. But no, he had to go and get soft at the last second.

Thatbastard would've done it, he wouldn't have hesitated in the slightest. he had known that, he had seen that, but even then he didn't have the guts to finish him.

He brought himself out of his self-loathing after a moment to realize he had a much bigger problem. His soul protect.

If they were free, he would have used his hands to choke himself. _How could I be so stupid!_ He thought at himself. The one, little thread that was keeping him safe in that situation and he had cut it with a freaking war axe.

_All that time I had invested in this and I had to go and not only let him go, but d had to blow my cover too? What is wrong with me? _He thought upset as his lacking performance.

He had let down his guard for a second, that was all that trash had needed to take advantage of him. Launching him off and then going after him again, about to kill him when...

That's right... A meister had jumped in and stopped him... Why?

Before he had time to ponder the circumstance more, he heard footsteps outside his door. He quickly went still, calmed his breathing, and did his absolute best to make himself look asleep. He heard a key turn in the door, which ground open after a moment. Footsteps approached his bed, before a weight plopped down right next to him on the bed, a hand grasped his arm and rolled him over onto his stomach. The hand came to the collar of his shirt and pulled it aside, ice cold hands touched lightly around his shoulder as he felt something peel away.

The moment air hit his uncovered shoulder he had to dig his teeth into his tongue to keep himself from crying out. Just as he was beginning to adjust to the uncomfortable pain emanating from his shoulder, he heard the sound of a liquid sloshing about. A sponge came down onto his back, he involuntary sucked in air through his teeth. It felt as if his shoulder was on fire, it burned him to the core.

The hands on his back lifted quickly in surprise at his sudden outburst. After hurriedly putting a new bandage over the wound the hand came down to the underside of his shoulder and slowly turned him around. He did his best to remain motionless, but it was too late for that now. The hand came down and lightly tapped him on his cheek. He couldn't act as if he were asleep anymore.

He begrudgingly opened one eye to stare at the person that was doing this to him. He couldn't really see their face; it was unfortunately covered in bandages, with only one blue eye peering out at him. He could, however, see the choppy, black dreadlocks that pierced through the top and sides of her facial wrap.

"So the little witch is awake?" She asked, as he now realized she was a woman, her tone was not hateful, surprisingly; but it was far from warm or comforting. She rose off the bed and turned back to him.

"Can you stand?" she asked innocently. In response, the boy slowly sat up and tried once again to push himself off of the lumpy mattress.

his left leg extended fine. he slowly extended his right leg, pushing himself up. The moment he put weight on his right leg, it felt like needles were shooting out throughout his body. He very nearly screamed as his right leg buckled, but only let out a pathetic whimper.

He could feel the woman's hands coming out to him more than see it, but he stumbled away. Stumbling for only a foot her two, he regained his balance; however, he still had trouble completely steadying himself. His right leg buckling as he glared at her. She pulled her hands away and let them fall to her sides, she motioned for him to follow.

As he shadowed the woman through the dark dungeons he studied her. She wore a pair of combat pants and a combat jacket; the sleeves of which were rolled up, revealing more extensive bandages on her arms as well. She carried herself distinguished and walked at a slow pace to accompany him through the stone tunnels they were in.

He couldn't help but walk with a slight limp, putting even the slightest weight on his right leg caused pain to erupt through his body. Even with out the pain generated by his leg, his shoulder throbbed and occasionally sent a small twinge of pain into his neck and arm.

As they walked in silence through the catacombs, the boy couldn't help but let his mind wander to the stories he had heard about. The tortures, the executions, the sick games that the people here would play using witches before they finally finished them off. He shivered a little and swallowed the lump in his throat.

He apparently did so a little to loud, as he noticed the woman in front of him turn her head slightly to look at him before continuing on through the labyrinth. The walked about another 20 yards before they reached a set of stairs, every step up on his right leg was somehow worse than the last. As they finally emerged into light he turned his head and closed his eyes, trying to shield them from the light.

When he opened them again he noticed that the light was coming from windows high up in the hallway's walls. He was relieved to have finally conquered the stairs, but now was met with a new dilemma. Everywhere he looked there were people staring at him.

_No not people_, he thought as he corrected himself, _they're meisters and weapons._ He did his best to swallow his fear, he pulled his lips tightly together, and shut his eyes into a venomous glare. It dawned on him that this might have a better effect if he weren't currently limping while bound.

He heard whispers coming from the groups ahead and behind him, but they curiously died off when he approached. He couldn't tell if this was a good or a bad thing, he could have been scaring them enough to the point that they lost the ability to use words when he drew near. But he was soon aware this was wishful thinking, it was most likely the fact that they were all so entertained by his attempt to act brave in this nest of enemies.

After what seemed like ages, they arrived at the end of a long hallway. In front of them was a door with a skull portrayed at the front of it and a sign that read "Death Room". His eyes went wide, they were going to kill him so soon, he shook a little as the woman reached out and turned the knob. Pulling the door aside she ushered him in. he half-limped, half-stumbled into the room. In front of him was a plain walkway with guillotine-like gateways placed neatly along it. With the woman behind him he had nowhere to go but forward, half expecting for the blades above him to fall and slice him in half.

It only took him a few seconds to reach the end of the archways, there were people waiting for him. A very tall man with a jagged black cloak and white mask, a man with stitching all over his body and clothes, a man in a suit with red hair, a boy with a girl on either side of him, a small boy with blue hair and a much taller girl behind him, and the girl from before, the one with pigtails, along with a boy with perfectly white hair. All of which seemed to stare at him as he emerged from the pathway.

"I brought him." the bandaged woman said as she stepped next to him.

"Thank you Nygus," the jagged cloaked one spoke, "you may leave now."

Nygus nodded before turning to leave. The witch turned to watch her leave, her feet making hushed noise as they went further and further away until it was only him and the group behind him. He did his best to swallow down the last of his fear before turning to face them, steeling himself for some sort of confrontation.

* * *

><p>Writer Schtuff: I know this one was sort of short, but I am decently far into the next chapter and should have it done bybefore the end of the week.

Thanks for reading.


	4. A Trial by Fire

Maka stood beside her friends and teachers; even though the witch was bound and injured she still felt more comfortable knowing that she had people by her who could help her. Nygus was dismissed; as she left, the witch's eyes followed her down the path before turning once again to them. He glared at each of them individually, moving from person to person. Shinigami, her papa, stein, kid and the Thompson twins, Black*Star and Tsubaki, to soul, and then to her.

For a brief moment, Maka saw his expression slip. His glaring gaze faltered and his frown stopped for only a second, but it came back just as before; harder in fact, as if he were trying to make up for the mistake.

Now that they were in a properly lit place and were so close to one another, Maka could actually get a good look at his face.

Soft features and dark, emerald eyes looked back at her. There was some scarring on his face, just small marks here and there, except for a large slash that ran from just a little below where his hair covered to just above his mouth, passing over his right eye in the process. On his head sat a mop of dark green hair that matched his eyes, small tufts shooting out in a few places. After such a long staring competition, the witch grew physically agitated, barring his teeth slightly. From what she could see, his teeth were dangerously sharp; not like souls, the boys teeth were nearly normal except for a few incisors at the front of his mouth, which grew slightly past each other as if they were fangs. Maka, being unable to hold his gaze any longer, looked back to the group; all of whom were also examining the boy in front of them.

The overall feeling of the room would be best be described as tense. The witch was uneasy, understandably, and no one knew quite how to deal with the situation. From what she could tell so far, Black*Star was going from mildly impatient to moderately annoyed at the fact of having to stand around doing nothing. Tsubaki was quiet, not giving away much information, but her the way she looked at the witch made Maka think that she almost felt bad for the witch. Patti was on the verge of goofing off and Liz was getting anxious at the notion. While Kid was to busy twitching due to the asymmetry of the witch's face caused by his scar. Soul was dead silent next to her, but she could tell he was ready to spring into action at any minute, his eyes locked dead on the witch.

The teachers in the room gave no hint of emotion, not even a flicker of what was going through their heads at the moment. Stein slid a cigarette from his pocket, lighting up while he studied the witch. The witch was shaky on his feet, his right leg buckled every once and a while; however, he refused to sit down, even though the fact was it was blindingly obvious that he was in pain.

Stein stepped forward, tossing a manilla folder on the small table in front of him, causing a few papers to fall out of it. It was apparent that it was the new file for the recruit from the other day. He held up a picture and a small note card with a few personal facts about the recruit.

He dropped the photograph onto a small table in front of him, in front of plain view of everybody; Maka stepped forward to take a closer look.

The boy didn't look old at all, it was impossible to believe he had beaten a witch. His sharp features and cold blue eyes sharply contrasted with the witch's own face. His shaggy black hair came down to just over his eyes, slightly covering the very tops of the eyes. He did have a scar similar to the witch's; however, the boy's scar was much smaller, only skimming diagonally across the boys nose. The boy's lips were pulled up into an obviously forced smile, showing a small amount of perfectly white teeth.

"Name: Daren Lockewood. Age: nine and a half." he said slowly, putting the papers back down on the table.

"Well, then." Stein started, "would you care to explain why you attacked Daren?"

The witch continued his glare, doing his best not to betray a hint of emotion beyond hate. The edge of his mouth involuntary slipped into a small frown before he righted it. Holding Stein's gaze while simultaneously ignoring his question.

"Do you really have nothing to say for yourself?" Stein asked.

Again the witch did his best to give no hint as to the reason he was there now.

"How about we try a different question than?" Spirit said, hands in his pockets, "can you tell us your name?"

The witch was caught slightly off guard by the seemingly innocent question, his face slipped from hatred to surprise as he did his best to recover quickly. He looked from person to person in the room, determining whether or not answering was a good idea. In the end his response was clear, choosing to stick to his plan of silence.

"It's clear we're getting no where." Kid spoke up, "Why is he even alive right now?"

"That's the same thing I want to know."

everyone jumped a little from surprise, the witch stared questioningly from Stein to Spirit. Both of whom turned to each other and shrugged.

"I'm not quite sure," Stein said casually, "all I'm sure of is the fact that I've been restricted from dissecting you... at least for now."

Maka stared at Lord Death, clearly any order for _not_ killing a witch would have come from him. But the real question was why? He was a threat to them, he would butcher them if he got the chance... right?

"You seem like a nice enough boy~" Lord Death said in his usual cheerful tone, the witch caught off guard by the happy voice coming from the unsettling character.

"But he is a witch," Kid stated, turning to his father, "doesn't that make it our job to... kill him?"

"Hey, Hey, Hey, there are always exceptions to the rules~." Death said, clapping his hands together, "what about Angela~? Or Kim Diehl~? We wouldn't hurt them would we~?"

Soul turned to Lord Death, joining the conversation.

"We would if they outright attacked another student without provocation."

"Think back to the event in the courtyard," Lord Death said calmly, "the way Maka described it, I believe you're all overlooking a few key facts."

everyone turned from Lord Death to the witch, waiting for an explanation.

"Maka. How exactly did our friend here receive the wound on his shoulder?" he asked. Maka suddenly understood what Shinigami was getting at.

"He... blocked it from hitting another recruit." she replied.

"And when he had the chance to, did he kill Daren?" he asked again.

Maka was reluctant to answer, remembering the pained and confused look in the witch's eye.

"he... stopped himself." she finally said.

Shinigami nodded at Maka before turning his attention back to the witch.

"Mercy and concern for others. That's not common in the witch community."

The witch turned his head, perhaps in shame, choosing to not look at anyone in the group before him.

"regardless of that, we're still going to bring Daren in." Stein said.

The witch surprised everyone by letting out a deep, rough chuckle. Everyone looked to one another confused, who would laugh in such a situation?

"You really don't get it do you?" he said through his clenched teeth that were holding back his laughter, "he is _LONG_ gone by now!"

everyone became uneasy from the witch's remark. _Why would Daren run because a witch attacked him?_ Maka wondered. In a different circumstance where the witch was still free she would've understood perfectly, but she couldn't grasp the reasons for doing so under the current conditions.

"What the hell are you going on about now?" Black*Star asked angrily, "You're just trying to take more attention from me now."

The witch raised an eyebrow tentatively, looking over to Stein.

"Is he always like this?" he asked. Stein nodded, take a long drag off of his cigarette.

"He does bring up a good point though, what are you talking about?" Stein replied. The witch dropped his head, shaking it back and forth in frustration.

"What I'm trying to tell you is, Daren is long gone." he replied.

"And why would he leave?" Spirit asked the witch. This time the witch stayed silent, returning to his previous, uncooperative state.

"We checked on him... I'd say about nine hours ago." said Kid.

"Then that means that he left eight and a half hours ago." replied the witch through clenched teeth, looking at the group smugly.

"this is ridiculo-" kid said before being interrupted by the doors to the Death Room opening and closing with a bang. Sid rushed up the pathway to group.

"Daren's gone. No one has seen him on the grounds or in the city." he said hurriedly. Everyone gaped at the news; except for the witch, who was bearing a big, toothy smile.

* * *

><p>After being rushed back to his little cell, the witch was left all alone in the stony room. He noticed now that the room had changed, they had brought in a small nightstandtable that now rested by his bed with a small mirror on it, and there was also a small wooden chair in the far corner of the room. No one on guard duty, if he didn't know better he would've thought that they wanted him to make a jailbreak. But he, unfortunately, did know better; whoever(or whatever) these people were, they had some sort of plan, and it probably involved another interrogation.

He groaned, limping quickly to the mattress and throwing himself onto the rough material. Begging for a reprieve from the aching pounding in his head. _It's better than the alternative_, he thought. The voices were gone for once.

He knew some people thought he was crazy. Hell, maybe he was, but the voices weren't usually that annoying, noisy, or distracting; sometimes it got out of hand, but he could control it... mostly.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shooting pain inside his head. _Okay, no more dwelling on that then_, he decided.

There was a low clang that resounded from the metal bars on the window just above eyesight. checking around quickly, he stepped up onto the small nightstand raising himself up to the window. He wasn't prepared for what he saw.

That little demon was starring at him. Mocking him through the bars. His black hair, pushed just to the side as his dark blue eyes taunted him through the bars.

"hey there, _buddy_." he said, putting extra emphasis on the final word, as if doing so would make it true. The witch stood frozen in place, not from fear, but from contempt that was boiling over inside of him. His face however, was very animated in showing his extreme disgust with Daren.

"Oh, come now. There's no need for that." he said playfully, as he sat by the edge of the window, "I'm sure by now that you have met some of the _lovely_ people here."

the witch merely starred in anger at him, allowing himself to let out a low growl.

Daren let out a giddy laugh, as he hopped up from the ground.

"Aren't they simply _revolting?_" he said enthusiastically, "that boy he tried to take you away from me the other day... I don't think I would've left enough of him for a burial if you hadn't of stopped me you dumb-ass."

Daren stared down at him, his sparkling teeth shining in the sunlight.

"You always did favor the weak." he said smugly.

"Is that why you did it than?" the witch asked monotonically, trying to contain at least a part of his hatred. Daren rolled his eyes at the question.

"Damn, every talk that we have now rotates around that question. 'Why did you do it!', 'How could you!'. The question is actually very easy to answer." the puny boy said, his mouth turning up into a devilish grin. "_It was fun~."_

"YOU BASTARD!" the witch screamed through the bars at the boy, who only tutted in response.

"such foul language! What would your mother think?" he questioned sarcastically.

The witch was taken aback by the response of the boy, stumbling backwards and falling off of the nightstand. The mirror came tumbling down, shattering on the ground; but that wasn't the part that he disliked. He had fallen down hard, onto his _right_ leg.

He cried out in pain as he crumpled to the ground. Daren laughing hysterically at the pain that the witch was feeling.

"You know what?" Daren started rhetorically, "I'm really glad that that pig-headed girl stopped me. It would've been such a shame to kill you so quickly. I wouldn't have gotten to watch you suffer near as much as I know you will now."

Daren turned away from the bars walking away from the wincing witch on the ground.

"Don't die too quick~." Daren called back cheerfully, halfheartedly waving a hand at the witch as he left.

* * *

><p>Writer thingamajigs: as a general rule of thumb, if you don't know who or what I'm talking about, such as Angela (the little kiddy witch), or Kim Diehl (it's in the Manga). It would be advised to check the "Soul Eater Wiki". If it's not on there, than it is either OC or I'm talking out my ass.<p>

Anyway, thanks for reading.


	5. The Scared Visitor & an Insane Nightmare

He couldn't sleep. Not after that day, not after what happened. He had the nerve to bring up both of those painful subjects while simultaneously taunting him on the other end of a prison? _Bastard,_ the witch thought angrily, _bastardbastardbastardbastard_.

_Don't let him win_, he thought to himself, _he just wants you like this so you'll make a mistake... again._

He let out a pitiful sigh as he rolled over again on the mattress. even if he wanted to sleep, he wasn't sure if he could. He was never good with sleeping on his stomach, and the clamp on his wrists made it impossible to sleep on his back. So he was left with hopelessly rolling on the bed, trying to find some way to contort his body so that he could sleep.

It wasn't even like it was late, he just wanted his horrible day to end.

_Every morning is a brand new day_, a memory reminded him.

_Shut up._ He thought, _you're not allowed to lecture me. You're not even around any more._ Even so, he couldn't help but smile at the age old saying that he had heard so long ago. He couldn't bear the thought of losing the last few strings that tied him to that past which seemed so far away. A time before he was on his own, a time before he had to be paranoid about everyone around him hating him or wanting to kill him, a time before... before...

He jumped off the bed, shaking his head to get rid of those nagging thoughts. He didn't care if each motion brought on a new wave of pain. It had to be better than the pain of those memories.

After his little self-inflicted torture was over he leaned against the wall beside his 'bed', or whatever it is they called that lumpy pile of fluff that they pass off as sleeping accommodations.

He tried hard to remember every second of the _interrogation_ that he had had before. He was pretty sure he had kept it hidden, but he wasn't one hundred percent sure. He stuck out his tongue, it slid out a ways before it turned around to face him; the little forked end waved at him as he controlled it like an obedient puppet.

He was pretty sure that he had kept his mouth shut at all times. Or almost all times, there was his outburst as to the nature of his current status of 'living'; but no one had been looking at him, and he had been quick to conceal himself before they all turned to him.

There was a quick rasp at the door, accompanied by a decent amount of chatter. The witch hurriedly sucked his tongue back into his mouth as if it were spaghetti before replying.

"What do you want?" he asked cautiously, being sure to add on a hint of roughness for added affect. There was a short moment of silence before he heard something bang around inside the lock of the cell. the door hastily slid open, closing quickly just as a figure fell into the open area. The bickering voices from outside the cell dissipated as the speakers drew away from the little prison. The figure on the ground slowly rose; still sitting on the ground as it turned towards the witch.

A frightened girl with wild eyes gazed up at him in horror. The witch felt his hands ball up into fists from his anger.

"Now that really pisses me off." he said as he made his way towards the girl.

* * *

><p>She lied on the ground for a few moments, too petrified to turn around and face the witch. She knew that doing this wouldn't help her, but she didn't care; she was just too scared. She swallowed down her fear and slid her hands underneath her, slowly pushing herself off the ground. She rotated towards the witch, unable to disguise her fear.<p>

The boy looked down at her, his face slightly quizzical at the sight. But slowly the wonder turned into anger as he made his way towards her.

"Now that really pisses me off." he said through grit teeth. The girl pulled her arms up over her head, preparing for some sort of finishing blow to kill her. She counted her breathes as she sat on the ground. After a few moments, she felt a soft tapping on her shin. She peaked through the crack in her arms at the witch, who was stooped over slightly looking at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. She slowly pulled her arms off of her head, nodding in response to the witch's question. The witch righted himself, stretching a little as he rose. He glanced back down at her.

"I'd offer you a hand to help you up. But..." he said, motioning towards the clamp behind his back that held his hands in place. She slowly nodded, taking the hint and standing up. She lightly brushed the dirt and grime off of her clothes as she looked at him.

He seemed rather calm at the moment. But then again, what did he have to worry about? If she tried anything he could probably kill her with one blow. She did a quick once-over, examining the odd spectacle before her.

The witch's clothes seemed rather well kept, at least for someone who had been in a dungeon the last few hours. A black, stripped dress shirt with buttons ran down to just above his thighs. His pants were just dark, blue jeans. Hardly something that came to mind when she pictured a witch. She glanced over him to a chair in the corner, on which hung a crimson red coat, the markings on it indicated a lot of wear; _that looks more like something a witch would have_, she thought to herself. Slowly realizing that the witch was also looking at her.

She didn't want to imagine what she looked like. She had had a rough couple of days and nights trying to adjust to the life at the DWMA, the hardest part of which was her being singled out. Not because of her background or her looks, but because of her ability; or the lack thereof. She was _supposed_ to be a weapon. But she hardly even thought of herself as one, her transformations were... shoddy at best, and even then what she transformed into wasn't that impressive.

The others had caught on quickly to her, they taunted her, picked on her, bullied her. The older students did their best to stop it, but there wasn't really much they could do. Her dark brown hair must have been a mess after the sleepless nights she had been having, the light red highlights must have been fading by that point. Her plain, blue shirt was probably littered with spots of spilt drinks. Along with it was a large khaki jacket that hung down to just above the backs of her knees, most likely disheveled after being worn for so long. And just plain jeans, with tears and holes in various spots.

The witch circle around her, limping towards the bed. She backed away a little from the witch, edging for the door.

"Don't bother," he said. By the way the girl jumped, he realized that he most likely sounded gruffer than he intended.

"The door will be locked." he said, this time much more gently. The girl hesitated, before turning back to the witch. Who sat down on the mattress, staring back at her with warm eyes.

"I'll go out on a limb and guess that you didn't come in here voluntarily." he said slowly, as if she were a small, panicked animal (which she guess she must have looked a little bit like). She was only able to give the slightest nod at the witch before her.

The witch's mouth pulled down into a frown, his eyes shutting until they were merely slits. For some reason he was extremely upset at this information. He looked around the room quickly, scanning for something.

She wondered to herself what he could possibly be looking for in the room. But the bigger question was, _why isn't he trying to kill me right now?_

He almost seemed to sense her thoughts as he turned back to her.

"It'd probably be to messy to clean the blood of the walls after I was finished." he said, the girl hopped backwards out of fear pressing herself against the wall. The witch merely rolled his eyes at her reaction.

"It was a _joke_." he said, holding back a chuckle, "just trying to lighten the mood."

He sat on the bed, his back slouched as his eyes darted around the room. _That's an odd sense of humor_, she thought sarcastically; though too afraid to say it aloud.

"So was it bullies?" he asked innocently, the lack of a reaction seemed to reply to the question. He let out a low growl at the answer.

"Should've guessed." he said, leaning against the bed, "do you know how to deal with them?"

She gave him a confused look, still not fully understanding the situation. He raised an eyebrow at her lack of contributing to the conversation.

"... So... take that as a no then?" he questioned, laying back against the wall. His face shifting as his thought process steamed on. His left foot taping incessantly against the ground as he went through ideas in his head.

She stayed pinned against the wall, doing her best not to draw attention to herself. A witch, something that even the most skilled of meisters had trouble defeating; and she was stuck in this room with one, without a meister and nearly no control over her ability. _Why would he sit there? What is he thinking?_ She wondered, trying her hardest to figure out just what he was planning.

The witch slowly rose from the bed heading towards the corner of the room where the chair was placed. He gently picked up the rugged coat with his teeth.

"gimne un shekkon" he choked through the clothing.

"What?" she spoke up, unable to understand his muffled speech. He limped the last few steps to the bed, spitting it out before turning to her.

"I said give me one second." he spoke slowly, doing his best not to startle her more. He limped back to the chair in the corner, knocking it onto its side. Positioning the chair against the wall, he hopped up. Slamming down on the chair's leg shattered the end. He stumbled on his landing, causing him to take a knee.

Sucking in air through his teeth, he did his best to ignore the burning sensation in his leg. He leaned over towards the broken chair leg, picking it up behind his back. Shaking a little as he rose, he approached the small nightstand next to the bed. He used his left foot to flick something up into his open hand.

He turned to face her for a second, he winced a little as something made a slicing sound. His arms shifted behind his back as he concentrated on what he was doing. He strode up to her, leaning an arm out behind his back.

She reached out to the object and her fingers grasped onto the broken chair leg, the thick end now covered in a small amount of blood. He strode past her, walking up to the door. He turned around and pressed his back against it.

"might want to cover your ears." he said, closing his eyes and focusing. There was a dull in the room as silence lingered for a moment. There was a low hiss then a loud, unexpected pop. The witch stepped away from the door and let it open behind him. The place where the lock and handle used to be was nothing more than a pile of melted metal.

"take that back," he states as he nods at the chair leg with his head, "if you tell them to leave you alone with that. They won't bother you for _quite_ awhile."

the witch sauntered lazily to the bed, dropping onto it and facing away from her, as she was trying to understand what just happened. After coming to the conclusion that the witch was, in fact, _not_ going to kill her and had instead _helped_ her, but something was nagging at her.

"why aren't you trying to leave?" she questioned quietly, almost silently. She hoped that he had already thought about that and was not being given a new and quite frankly _better_ option than whatever awaited him here.

The boy shifted a little, angling his head towards her. His voice came out merely a whisper to her question.

"Where would I go? How far do you think I'd get?" he asked, "you can go."

"uh... thanks." she said in a hushed tone, before turning and exiting the cell.

* * *

><p>He lied on the bed, face down as it was the only remotely comfortable way to lay on the material, doing his best to wonder <em>what the hell<em> was going on.

He had been woken up and had not been treated like a gigantic threat, only a minor one, and was then led to a place labeled the "death room", which apparently was _not_ used as an execution chamber, and was questioned without the aid of some sort of torture techniques, and not to mention the girl that had involuntarily visited him only minutes ago.

As far as he could tell, no one was going to kill him, _yet_. Maybe they were just biding their time? How should he know? He groaned as his head hit the flat pillow repeatedly. He couldn't clear his head, he didn't want to fall asleep while he was still trying to work things out. But then again, when did he ever get what he want?

* * *

><p>It was the floor, just the floor. The floor and the abyssal blackness that enveloped the endless space around him.<p>

Far below he heard a distant noise, a chaotic noise, an almost insane noise. But he couldn't worry about that, he knew what would happen if he lost focus. _The floor, focus on the floor._ He hurriedly thought. The hardwood floor that impossibly floated in the air. There were a few things scattering the area, a table, a few chairs, a couple of children's toys strew around the ground.

"You are here once again." a voice called out through the darkness, from every direction the inescapable voice followed him. The deep booming voice that commanded respect.

"You have failed yet again." it accused him; though not with anger or contempt, but with sadness.

He stepped back, in this world his afflictions were moot. His legs felt amazing, and his shoulders were clear of pain; but he felt so terrified and scared.

"Why should you care?" he called back.

A second voice appeared, much lighter and playful.

"Why should he? It's not like its his problem!" it rang out, "it's just your problem. Isn't it? Why should he drag us into your affairs?"

The boy's jaw clenched. He both agreed with the voice and despised the way he said it.

"It's not like there is anything I can do about it." he deadpanned. The second voice laughed maniacally.

"Just ask, and I can give it to you!" he called giddily. _Not a chance in hell_, was the only thought that came to the boy's mind.

"Not ever, not at that price." he said quietly, more to himself than the voice.

"Then you must face this all on your own." the voice, now dangerously quiet and calm. The wood around him started to shake. At first, it was only a slight shiver that went through the surface; but slowly, the vibrations became a shifting wave of wood, rocking back and forth.

"Remain calm," the first voice assured, "you can make it through this, keep a level head and maintain focus."

The floor continued in its dance, slowing only slightly at the witch's prodding. The second voice returned to its irritating, playful way.

"you can't stop this! And he can't help you!" it jeered, "he's just as bad as I am! There isn't any way you can escape this!"

The floor began to break apart, the edges crumbling away. The toys fell time and time again, making slight racket as they plummeted. The insane crushing feeling that was below him start to reach up to him, trying to pull him down to it. The table and chairs tumbled after a large chunk of wood pulled away, clattering down and joining with the chaos beneath.

The witch backed away into the center of the wooden surface, or what was left of it, as larger and larger pieces fell.

"you can't escape from this ever." the second voice assured in a monotonic, harsh tone.

The last bit of the flooring gave out, he was falling. Through the ever present darkness and into the pit of the noise. He felt the chill overcome him as he smacked down into the freezing, chaotic waves.

He was spun around, unable to see or tell which way was up or down. The blackness gave no indication to any ways to get out. His mind was going numb, his fear was overtaking him. He clawed around him, trying to break the surface of the aquatic insanity that engulfed him. The oxygen was pulled from his lungs as the water beat against him, he was running out of air. He started to claw at his throat, his vision began to cut out, not that it mattered; he wouldn't have been able to see in the black ocean if he tried.

He started to lose feeling. He was under and there was no way out, the voice was right. He couldn't escape this not now, not ever. He couldn't do all this on his own, how could he even pretend?

His fear welled up inside him, he gave out a few, brief bursts of energy trying to find some sense of hope.

As if by chance, a sound faintly called out to him. The sound grew slightly more noisy, giving him just enough hope to try one last time. He kicked and swung with all his might, flinging himself towards the sound. He burst through the surface, his face illuminated by a dim light.

* * *

><p>He rolled off the bed by accident, his body drenched in a cold sweat as he tried to identify his surroundings. He was gasping for air, but he didn't linger on that fact; he was overjoyed at the tangible objects around him, but then it all came back to him.<p>

He was still in that wretched place, that place where he was filled with fear at what might - no. What _would_ happen to him there. His happiness drained away slowly, realizing that he wasn't free, he was merely in a new prison, not worse and surely not better, just different. At least the ocean in his dreams and nightmares had the decency to be honest about what it was, a mind crushing deep that would strip away all he was.

But this place, these people. They almost acted like they cared about his well-being. He scoffed at the notion, _why would they of all people care for someone like _him? He wondered to himself.

It took him a moment to realize the sound, the same sound that had pulled him out of the sea. It was coming from his ajar door, or rather, the corridor outside his door. It was footsteps, echoing footsteps that reverberated around him. They were getting louder and undeniably closer with each second.

A figure exploded into the empty door frame; the pig-tailed girl from the day before, clutching onto a scythe as she glared into the room.

"come with me." she said coldly, as she strode into the room.

* * *

><p>Writer ramblings: this turned into a <em>much<em> bigger chapter than I intended it to be honestly. Then again, if I split them into chunks they would have been to small for my taste. Damned if you do, damned if you don't I guess.

Anyway, I have a plan, sort of, for how this will continue; and I'll try to have it done within an acceptable time parameter.

oh dear, it has just occurred to me that the "lines" that i put into my story in my writing application don't appear in this... Woopsies, i'll go back and edit a few in for coherency purposes.

aaaaand. i goofed. instead of replacing/updating stories i simply deleted them and put in new ones... yeah, that was stupid. it worked but i don't know if that will affect anything. all i know is that i just lost all my traffic/story stats _ except_ for chapter one... goody.


	6. The Game of Questions

Maka walked through the dreary dungeon, witch in tow. She wasn't exactly certain why Stein had requested for the witch to be brought to the Death Room, she could only guess that they were going to try another 'interrogation'. She was quickly doubting her decision to save the witch, and the way Stein had asked her made it seem like it might be more important than he was letting on. The witch was unremarkably silent behind her. Soul was giving her constant reminders to 'not let her guard down' and 'to think of him as a real threat', she was beginning to get agitated and was seriously contemplating which book she would deck him with when they got home. It only took them a few minutes to reach the steps out of the dungeon and Maka bounced up them turning to make sure that the witch was still following her at his sluggish pace.

The door to the hallway slide open letting in the light from the high up windows. Maka stood for a moment, appreciating the light on her face when a soft crash behind her jolted her attention back to the matter at hand.

She turned to see the witch on one knee, wincing a little. Maka stepped forward to help him up but he waved her off with a low grunt, pushing himself off of the floor and into a swaying, standing position.

"Same place?" he asked quietly. Maka was taken off guard by him actual speaking but gave a nod as she turned and continued the way down the hallways. She could hear noise coming from some the classrooms as the teachers continued on in their lectures, She half-wished she was in class at that time and not escorting the witch.

"Stay focused Maka." Soul hissed under his breath, "Don't give the witch an opening."

Maka decided her big dictionary would be best suited for smacking soul upside the head when the time came, but turned to look at the witch who was peering into one of the classrooms, his head halfway in the door. He seemed almost interested in the lecture, his eyes staying locked on the teacher. Realizing he had company, he quickly changed focus choosing to continue following Maka down the hallway.

The last few corridors past in silence as the witch followed Maka along their path. as they approached the door to the Death Room, Maka could almost feel the witch get tense. She almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost.

She pushed the door opened and motioned for him to go on ahead. Once he was a fair distance in the room, Soul changed back to his human form and the followed the witch side by side. The witch checked over his shoulder at them, raising an eyebrow when he saw that Soul was no longer in his scythe form. He begrudgingly turned his head around and continued his limp, though slightly improved, past the end of the gates.

The room was filled with the same people from before, Lord Death swaying a little without a care in the world it would seem, Stein standing behind him confident; and also her father who was restraining himself from acting like a child when she came in the room, even though it was pretty apparent.

Kid and Black*Star gave her a nod as she and soul walked around the witch to stand at their side. She was surprised at everyone's restraint from the last inquiry, and she was hopeful that this time they would do just as well; Black*Star had done so remarkably at restraining himself last time that Tsubaki had treated him to a trip to a good buffet, from which they were unfortunately barred because of how much Black*Star had eaten, hopefully Black*Star would have a repeat performance in the hope of more food.

Liz had apparently brought Patti a coloring book to keep her busy, and Patti was happily drawing outside of the lines as she was bent over a table inspecting her work. The witch stood awkwardly in front of the group, though he did allow himself one small grin as he whispered to them.

"You didn't find him did you?"

Stein and Spirit grimaced at the witch's knowledge, or possible guess, at the situation.

"How about we trade question for question?" stein suggested to the witch, who in response let his small smirk grow into a full blown smile, revealing his sharp teeth.

Without a word the witch approached the small table in the room, scooting back a chair. He took a seat, lifting his feet to the table and leaning back in the chair.

"Where do you want to begin?" he asked. Patti glanced up for a minute from her book, staring at the witch who was now sharing the table with her. The witch nodded at the coloring book, which Patti was happy to refocus on.

"Alright." Spirit stated, taken aback by the boy's laid back attitude. "how do you know Daren?"

The witch let out an exasperated sigh, clearly uncomfortable of the question.

"Go for the top shelf right away shall we?.. alright, we were... _friends_, at one point in time." the witch said, giving the word 'friends' as much disdain as possible.

"What do you mean friends?" stein asked hap-haphazardly, the witch only tutted in response.

"No, no. it's _my_ turn." he said, tilting his head and thinking for a moment before answering solemnly, "did he leave a note of any kind?"

Stein fished around in his pocket, retrieving a yellow slip of paper and holding it up.

"Why did you attack Daren?" he asked, waving the paper in the air. The witch grunted at stein's gesture.

"That's cheating... showing me it then demanding another answer." the witch stated annoyed, contemplating his answer before replying, "I attacked him because he owes me, and he can only repay in blood."

The group was a little nervous at the idea, Daren being targeted by the witch for something that had happened between them.

"Show me the note." the witch said plainly.

"That's not a question." Stein said, adjusting his glasses. The witch rolled his eyes at him.

"Alright, may I _please_ see the note?" he asked.

Stein slid it across the table, flipping it open in front of the witch. The boy slid his feet off the table, leaning forward in his seat to look at the note. Maka turned to stein.

"What does it say?" she asked him quietly.

"It says, 'Come find me.'" the witch replied slowly, as he fell against the back of the chair; staring at the note in apprehension, he looked up for a moment.

"Did that count as a question?" he asked. Maka became a little agitated, both at the witch for taking advantage of the situation, and herself for not thinking her question through.

"No." stein said plainly, the witch only gave an apathetic shrug at the response.

"Why would he tell us to come find him?" asked Spirit. The witch only shook his head as he leaned forward again.

"He's not telling _you_ to find him." the witch said, slightly annoyed at their ignorance, "he's issuing me a _challenge_."

Maka shook her head. _That couldn't be right, why would he issue a _witch_ a challenge?_ She questioned. Aware that everyone must be wondering something at least similar to her thought.

"And why would he issue you a challenge?" Kid questioned.

"Not so fast there stripes, it's _my_ turn." he said, causing Kid to instinctively raise his hand to his hair; suddenly self-conscience of his asymmetrical hair.

"What did he tell you?" asked the witch.

"Not much." was all stein said in return.

"Come now, that's not a real answer." the witch said, "if you want to play this game, you have to play by the rules. After all, you're supposed to be a _good guy_."

Stein shrugged at the witch's reply, lighting up a cigarette.

"He didn't talk much, kept to himself." stein explained, "all we know about him is in that file."

The witch let out a chuckle. "Most of the stuff is probably Bullshit anyway." the witch said tactlessly.

"Back to my question," kid said, ignoring the witch's comment, "why would he, a young meister, give you, a witch, a challenge? It just doesn't make sense."

The witch nodded, finally acknowledging the group's point of view.

"Wouldn't make sense from what you know." he sighed, "let's just say... he's not what he told you he was."

"how do you mean?" kid asked.

"for starters. He's not '_nine and a freaking-half'_" the witch replied agitatedly.

"then how old is he?" kid continued, bringing on another round of tuts from the witch.

"now, now. That's _two_ questions you've asked me. And I responded to _each_ of them." he said smugly.

"First, what's her name." he said, nodding at Maka. Kid eyed Maka, seeing if it was alright with her to tell the witch, Maka held up her hand to let him off the hook.

"My name is Maka Albarn." Maka said as she stepped forward, "Why do you want to know that?"

"Is that an actual question?" the witch said with a smug smile on his face. Maka felt her cheeks flush as she mentally berated herself at another slip.

"I'll give this one as a freebie." he said chuckling as he carefully stood up, "so I can do this."

The witch bowed his head slightly while turned towards Maka, "thank you for saving my life, Maka Albarn."

He sat back down and placed his feet back on the table, acting as if it didn't matter, "Later is better than never, I guess."

Maka was genuinely confused at the gratitude, but did her best to put the thought aside as he asked his second question.

"What, exactly, do you plan on doing to me now?" The witch asked. There was a lull in the room, no one knew how to respond.

"...What do you mean?" Spirit said, asking the obvious question that everyone was thinking.

"I mean. What are you going to do with me?" he asked, "You can't let me leave, obviously. And I don't want to be anybody's _pet._"

"and why can't we let you go?" asked Lord Death innocently. The witch gaped at him in disbelief.

"but... I'm a witch. What the hell do you think you're supposed to do with me?" he said, "Aren't I a threat? To you or... innocent people?"

"Are you a threat?" Lord Death asked. The witch sat in thought for a few moments.

"Define 'threat'." he said, "actually, never mind. I am a threat. More importantly, define 'innocent people'."

"Someone who doesn't deserve to be attacked?" Maka offered.

"then no. at least, probably not." the witch replied with the shrug of his shoulders.

"So you're a witch that doesn't want to hurt people?" Spirit asked sarcastically.

"Well, I wouldn't say that exactly." the witch said, his head dropping backwards and away from the group, "I just don't want to hurt _everybody_."

Spirit circled the table and stared down at the witch, stooping over slightly to make eye contact.

"So who do you want to hurt?" He asked.

"hm. Let's see. There are criminals, those can be fun. Annoying humans, I mostly annoy them back. And those weird things that eat souls." he concluded, rocking back in forth in his chair.

"You hunt kishins?" Spirit asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

"Hunt? Hell no, those damn things find me." he laughed, slamming his chair back to its normal position.

"They find you. so you're saying that they hunt you." Kid stated.

"what? No. I just have really bad luck, case in point right here." he said with a chuckle looking around the room.

"you're in here because you attacked Daren on DWMA grounds." Stein said.

"I would've gotten away with it and been out of here if I didn't have this damn flu." the witch mumbled, he sat for a second before his eyes shot wide.

"... did I just say that out loud?" he asked tentatively.

"You have a flu, but you decided to attack the DWMA single-handedly anyway?" kid asked, shaking his head in disbelief. The witch closed his eyes and leaned backward in his chair.

"Not one of my brightest ideas, I admit. But I didn't really have much of a choice. Looks like we're completely ignoring the question trading now... wait. What do you mean attack the DWMA?" he said slamming his seat forward again.

"You come here and attack one of the students here." Stein said, "how else are we supposed to interpret that?"

The witch groaned as he leaned back in his seat, "Why would I want to attack the DWMA? I don't have a reason to do that."

there was a loud knocking on the door to the Death Room, the door swinging open as Sid walked in.

"Apparently, that witch can't control himself." he said striding forward, dragging behind him a student with red highlights. The witch's eyebrows shot up on sight of the girl, tipping to far back in his seat he toppled over into a heap on the ground. Ignoring the witch, Sid stepped over him, walking up to the group.

"He apparently attack another student."


	7. A Friend Named Buddy

The witch peeled himself off the ground, not so gracefully as he flopped on the ground like a fish with his arms behind his back. He awkwardly got onto his knees and stood back up. Shaking his head at the situation.

"freaking wonderful. I don't know if my luck can get any better!" he seethed as he leaned against one of the posts. Sid shot the boy a dirty look, shaking his head in disgust.

"I get it. Keep him around, he's just a kid, give him a chance. Giving people a chance to redeem themselves, that was the kind of man I was. But this is going way to far." Sid grumbled as he turned to Lord Death, throwing his arms up in exasperation. Lord Death held up his hands.

"whoa, whoa, whoa~. Calm down Sid, what are you talking about?~" Lord Death asked cheerfully. Sid shook his head, pinching his hand over the bridge of his nose.

"There were a few rumors going around, that a recruit and the witch had gotten into a brawl. I thought it might be just some foolish gossip, until I looked into it. Turns out the rumor came from little Robin here." he stated matter-of-factly, holding up the girls arm. She dropped her head, refusing to look them in the face.

"apparently, she and the witch got in a scuffle and she apparently just barely made it out. Unfortunately, She got rid of the club that was involved." he said.

"are you kidding me right now?" the witch asked, slightly surprised.

"thought you could get away with it?" asked Sid irritatedly, as he turned to the witch.

The witch looked past Sid at the girl, "Really? I mean if you're going to go with it you should have gone whole hog. give 'em something that will make them shit their pants, Not 'just barely made it out'"

"What are you talking about?" asked Sid, confused. The witch rolled his eyes out of irritation for the inquiry.

"I'm not talking to you blue boy." the witch said nodding towards Robin, " Having a little chat with our friend there."

"You think they'd believe me if I said I had beaten you easily?" Robin asked him sarcastically. Sid held up his hands, shaking his head.

"Wait, wait, wait. What's going on here?" Sid asked calmly, trying to regain control of the conversation. The witch let out a chuckle at the zombies lack of knowledge.

"You're asking the wrong question here, you oversized smurf." the boy taunted, "the question you haven't thought of is 'why was she in that cell in the first place?'"

Sid stood for a moment, bewildered. He turned slowly to Robin, his mouth opening to question her. The witch jumped in, cutting him off.

"I'll give you a hint, it wasn't voluntary."

"Are you implying that someone here would intentionally put her in that cell with?" Sid questioned, letting out a nervous laugh. Turning around to face the witch.

"No, by all means no. I'm _telling_ you that that's what happened." the witch smirked, "You're lucky that the cell she got pushed into was just little old me."

Sid shook his head at the witch's prodding. "No one here would do that." he finally stated.

"Really? So, an ordinary person got all the way in here, and forced her into my cell? Actually, based on the noise, I'd say a _group_ of ordinary people." the witch returned, thinking back on the incident. Sid turned again to Robin, not giving the witch enough time to interrupt him again.

"Is that right?" he asked, shocked. Robin kept her eyes glued on the ground her fingers bumping against each other like confused snakes.

"well... uh..." she mumbled, not making eye contact.

"come on Robin, tell the nice people about those mean old bullies. Then again, ratting on them wouldn't exactly help your situation." the witch interjected, "Seriously, for the 'good guys', you partake in a lot of _iffy_ things."

"Why do you keep calling us the 'good guys'?" Stein asked the boy.

"Well, I'd assume that from your point of view, you look like you're in the right. Doing the right thing, you know, 'good guy' things." said the witch, shrugging at his own explanation.

"back on topic," Sid breathed, "Who did this Robin?"

"Now, now, Robin. Don't do anything hasty." the witch said, "trust me, telling them won't make it much better, might even make it worse."

"What are you going on about?" Spirit asked, hands in his pockets. "How could this make it worse?"

"Bully 101. they pick on you, you ignore it. Snitching to authoritative figures just pisses them off, and it makes them do worse things. And think about it, they put her into a witch's cell when they _aren't_ pissed; think about what might happen if she _does_ piss them off." the witch explained. "Just let it blow over, keep up the bluff, it should solve itself eventually."

The witch sat himself back down in his chair, pleased at his own deduction of the situation.

"That's not how we do things around here. We don't just, 'let things blow over'. We don't let things like this go unpunished. That's not the kind of man I was, and that's not the kind of man I plan on becoming." Sid insisted, crossing his arms over his chest. He would stand firm on this; Maka knew that once Sid set his mind on something, nothing could stop him. The witch merely shrugged at the answer.

"Oh well, not like it's my problem anyway." he said sighing. He glanced around the room once more, trying to analyze the group. "Now that we got that out of the way, do you want to pick up where we left off?"

Almost on cue, the door to the Death Room echoed a hurried knock.

"Come in~." Lord Death called.

"Goody, more visitors!" the witch said with mock enthusiasm. Turning slightly to try and catch a glimpse of who might be entering. With a quick march, Ox entered the circle slightly winded.

"You look out of breathe. Something important?" Kid asked calmly, eyes darting to the witch. _Worried about letting the witch in on information_, Maka wondered, _or is it something deeper than that?_

"Yeah, well I was-" Ox started, his words dying out as he noticed the witch. He nervously looked to the group, hoping for at least an inkling on what to do.

"Oh, by all means. Just pretend I'm not here." the witch said innocently. Ox took another glance, this time at Lord Death. Waiting for his judgment.

"It's alright." Lord Death agreed. Ox stuck a finger into the neck of his jacket, pulling it out a little. either out of nervousness or to actually cool himself off, Maka couldn't tell.

"Alright, well. Out in Death City I noticed something... odd." he said, scratching his head.

"This is Death City, Ox." Soul chuckled, "You're going to have to be a _bit_ more specific than that."

Ox rolled his eyes out of irritation, "I meant... more odd than usual. Somebody in Death City was walking around in a giant trench coat and hat. regardless of the fact that it is burning hot outside, the outfit itself is very... conspicuous."

"So you came in here with a hunch?" Maka asked, very doubtfully. Ox crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

"Of course not. The outfit wasn't the point, I kept my distance and observed. He was handing out some sort of flyer. when I got a good look at it, there was a picture on it which seemed very similar to what... he looks like."

"So someone's looking for you?" Kid asked the boy. The boy slumped back in his chair, thinking hard at the possibility.

"A list of people who would be negatively affected by my death is not nearly the size as the list for those who _want_ me dead, but they wouldn't bother so that eliminates them. On the list of people who would like me alive, there are very few who would go out of their way to help me. Out of those few, I can't really think of anyone fool enough to strut right up to the DWMA to help me... except-" the witch suddenly stood up, "Oh no."

The occupants of the room looked at one another, at a loss for the witch's reaction. Everyone but Black*Star. Black*Star wasn't paying much attention to the conversation, what he _was_ doing was nearly bouncing out of his uniform, an interrogation this long must be making him crazy.

"sooner or later, someone might point him towards here." Ox suggested.

"Well, we better go meet them." Stein said, a small, slightly unsettling grin creeping onto his face.

* * *

><p>Even with a gimp leg he was managing to out hobble the rest of the group, some of the younger ones had to break into a near trot to keep up with him. To be quite honest, he had no idea where he was going; he was just trying to get <em>somewhere<em> as quick as possible. Preferably the entrance, but any low hanging window or non-load bearing wall would do really. After a few more guesses, he came to a place where a couple of students were coming in.

_please, please, please. Give me one break, just one._ He begged to nothing in particular, mostly just doing it for something to hold onto. Even as he broke through the doorway he only had one thought. One, overpowering thought. _Please. Not. Him._

He wasn't planning on escaping, at least not at that moment. But the fact he was so close to the outside put a little hop in the step of the group behind him, soon catching up to him and a few overtaking him. He could see the sunlight streaming in, a bright gateway to the outdoors were the sun was blinding. He pushed through a couple students, narrowing in on the opening hoping one last time as he burst through the crowd.

"Master?" a hooded figure called, "is that you?"

_no. not here, not now._ He begged, hoping that this was all a fever dream or a twisted nightmare.

"Master!" the figure gleefully shouted, running up to him, embracing him in a big hug. "I knew I'd find you!"

He shook his head, trying to clear away all the shock. "You can't be here. You have to go! Now!" he pleaded, hoping that the hooded figure would run.

"What? Why?" the figure asked innocently, cocking his head to one side.

"Who's this?" he heard behind him. _The boy with the striped hair_, he thought trying to remember a name, he wasn't even sure if he had heard them use names. The only one he could really remember was 'Maka', but only because that was tied to an event, an important one at that.

The figure pried himself away from the witch, tossing his hood back. The same shocked gasps that always followed seeing his face for the first time.

"I'm Buddy!" the figure said, a ridiculous grin on his face. The witch hardly registered an automatic feeling of disgust towards the group for the reaction. Though he couldn't blame them, he knew better than everyone that Buddy was... unique. He couldn't help feeling a little bad, knowing it was his fault that Buddy would never be instantly liked. It was his fault, after all, that Buddy's features were not quite right.

His disproportionate eyes, one as big as a saucer, the other one a normal size that laid slanted across his face, a disturbing angle that was nearly parallel to the boys crooked noise, the tip of which started on one side down-turned but slowly arched up. Making it seem like he had two faces mushed into one space. His mouth was more or less natural, but only because the witch had painstakingly reformed it so it sat normal, at one point in time it had seemed frozen in a sort of maniacal smile.

Even though he was the one to be blamed for his disfigurement, Buddy followed him around like a trained dog; always happily trotting behind him, revering him above all else.

Buddy slowly turned back towards the witch, still confused as to the urgency in his voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his smile seemingly stuck on his face.

"You shouldn't be here. Leave now." the boy hissed, begging for Buddy to abandon him. Just once leaving his side of his own free will.

"But it took me so long to find you! Why would I leave now?" he asked, completely clueless to what he had walked in on. Buddy slowly turned around facing the group again. "Is the master in trouble?"

"Master?" one of the blonde girls, the tall one, wondered aloud. With that one word Buddy's face lit up.

"Oh yes! The master, he made me!" Buddy chirped.

"he what?" the boy with striped hair questioned.

"he's a... uh, homunculus. More or less." The witch said begrudgingly. Buddy turned happily towards the witch noticing that his arms were pinned behind his back.

"The Master is in trouble?" he asked again.

"Yes." The man with a bolt in his head said. Who seemed intrigued by the homunculus trying to get a closer look. Ignoring the prying eyes, Buddy turned around.

"What did he do?" Buddy asked, his hand to his chin as he wondered what the witch could have done.

"DWMA, not a fan of witches." The boy tiredly said, his shoulders slumping a little as it was all to apparent that Buddy had no intention of leaving him there for the sake of his own safety.

"But you're-" Buddy managed to get out, hushing himself as the witch shook his head pleadingly at the homunculus. Buddy's eyebrows furrowed at the witch's reaction. The witch could practically see the gears in his head grinding into motion, after a moment the realization hit him and an involuntary "Oh!" escaped his lips as his eyebrows shot up. He dipped his head sheepishly, hoping that no one had noticed his guffaw.

Hoping, however, never really did the trick for him. He could feel their curiosity rising as to what Buddy was going to say.

"Well, I guess we have two people we can interrogate now." The red headed man said happily, a hopeful smile on his face as he stared at what he hoped to be a cornucopia of information.


	8. A Sea of Glass

Sorry for the wait. I hope an extra long chapter makes up for it!

* * *

><p>The questioning had gone by quick; at least the questioning of both him and Buddy, together. He had been removed after it became very apparent that he was halting Buddy's "cooperation", and he was beyond anxious sitting around in his cell. His leg felt nearly completely healed, and he couldn't be happier. The blade had left some sort of residual pain, as if every move he made cut him again. If his arms weren't behind his back, his head would probably be in them. It was hours since he had been removed, either they were getting real information or Buddy was being a real pain with all his questions. He chuckled a little involuntarily. For some reason, the idea of Buddy not letting them have a word in edgewise was extremely entertaining. He went from slightly amused to shocking realization in a split-second; his mind lingered on one unacceptable scenario. <em>Are they torturing him?<em> He thought as he grit his teeth. He had a few characteristics that seemed fully capable of defining Buddy. The best of which being compassionate, it was ridiculous with all the stray animals he would bring in to whatever shelter the witch and Buddy were in at the moment. He smiled a little, remembering his times with Buddy. Sweet, innocent Buddy.

He slowly rose to his feet, no longer able to just sit around and let his mind wander. He paced the floor, his mind running in several different directions at once, each coming to more and more horrible scenarios that did their best at unsettling him. He kicked the wall in frustration; the idea of someone hurting Buddy was, quite simply, rage-inducing. Buddy was harmless, more or less. He almost wished that Buddy was telling them the truth, just so he wouldn't be put in danger, once again, because of him.

The door to the cell derailed his train of thought, as it opened with a dull creak. The girl named Maka and the white-haired boy brought in Buddy, who took a seat on the bed bouncing slightly. The girl handed Buddy a small plate of food, then gave a similar plate to the witch. Who let out a small chuckle as he looked at the food.

"How am I going to eat with my hands behind my back?" he said, examining the food. Instead of speaking, Maka walked behind him. She stooped down; the witch noticed a small, sharp clicking sound as the manacles fell to the ground. He drew his arms from his back, rubbing his wrists.

"You know I could have broken that off at anytime, right?" he muttered, as he picked up the fork. The pair left the room, leaving them in perfect silence. After he was sure that they were no longer near him, he turned to Buddy.

"What happened after I was... removed." he questioned quietly. Buddy smiled as he scooped another load of food.

"Not much." he said as he took a bite out of a roll, "I just told them some stories." The witch stared down at his plate scraping a small portion of food up, letting his mind wander as he ate his first meal in... He didn't even know how long.

"What do you mean? Which stories?" he thought aloud, Buddy swallowed another load of food, his plate nearly empty already.

"The story about the cat in the tree, that mugging that you stopped, stuff like that." he said through a mouthful of food. The witch rubbed his palms against his face, remembering all the events Buddy would tell. All of them would blow immense holes in the self-image he was trying to make. The whole intimidating and threatening image he was going for was totally destroyed. That only left him with one option. Escape. He went into deep thought, desperately trying to think of a plan of escape that gave him and Buddy the most time to get away, the least amount of collateral damage, and the best chance of not being detective. He ran down several dead ends by the time the door to the cell once again creaked open. Maka and the white-haired boy stepped in.

"We need you to come with us." The boy stated. His hands brought up the manacles that dangled in the air. The witch groaned as he stood up, holding his arms out in front of himself.

"Do we really have to do this?" he asked as Maka clipped them on. She motioned for him to follow and Buddy stood up instinctively, Maka shook her head as he took a few steps to follow.

"There's no need for you to come. You've been helpful enough." She said warmly. Buddy hesitantly sat down, looking to the witch for guidance.

"It's alright Buddy, I'll be back soon. I promise." The witch nodded, as he turned to follow the pair. They walked through the dank dungeon, only their quiet footsteps filling the void. The glare of sunlight as he emerged from the dark pit was unwelcoming as ever, blinding the witch for a moment. He continued on, followed the pair through a few familiar hallways, but then diverting into a new set of corridors. He fidgeted a little; this new path could mean something very bad. They stepped through a doorway; his eyebrows furrowed at all the eyes staring down at him, this was much worse than the interrogation room. It was a classroom.

The man with the screw imbedded in his skull looked over at the disruption in the middle of his class. He stood up from the chair, turning back to his class.

"continue testing, and no cheating." He said dully. He motioned for the pair to follow him as he took a step out of the room, the door close behind them as they began to discuss something. The boy stood awkwardly at the front of the classroom, most of the prying eyes returning to the papers in front of them. He could hear a couple of groans as they stared at the papers. The witch hopped onto the slightly raised pedestal where the man's desk and chair were placed. He sat down on the chair. He leaned back as he propped his legs on top of the table. Only a handful of people were still looking at him as he scanned the crowd. One of them was the same girl from the cell. He thought back to earlier, trying to come up with the name. It was a bird of some sort, was all he could remember at the moment. He glanced down at the sheet in front of him. An idea slowly formed in his head as he stared at the paper. A smile slowly grew on his face; he glanced up at the door. Once he was sure there would be no interruptions, he cleared his throat. Once he was sure everyone was staring at him he returned his focus to the paper.

"1: D, 2: A, 3: C, 4: D." he began, glancing up at the students. Some of them caught on quick and were already checking over their papers, some were making corrections. The rest of the class quickly caught on and pretty soon all of them were going over the papers. He glanced back at the door one last time before he carefully read off every answer to the class.

* * *

><p>The questioning went by very fast, or rather the questioning was going nowhere fast and they simply dismissed the witch because it was all too clear that he would be of no assistance. Maka sat back in her restaurant chair. Black*Star had done surprisingly well, four interrogations and almost no outbursts; he had gone close several times but had more or less been compliant. Now, he was getting his reward. Maka felt a little bad for Tsubaki, how she could handle being around Black*Star so long? If she was around Black*Star that long, she would've lost her mind. As of that moment, Black*Star and Soul were in some sort of disgusting eating contest. Soul just finished his fifth plate and was raising his hand for another, while Black*Star was already halfway through his seventh. Kid was being restrained by Liz and Patti, incoherently begging for something about it having to be eight plates. Tsubaki and Maka sipped green tea while observing the strange situation.<p>

Maka waved over the nearest waiter and asked for the bill, he laughed nervously as he looked back to Black*Star and Soul who were still stuffing themselves with food. Maka shook her head at the two of them, she and Tsubaki paid the waiter for what they had eaten so far. Maka strode towards the pair; luckily she was in the middle of two very thick novels that doubled as very effective ammo for the Maka chop. The two sat rubbing their heads, Soul shouting out an almost impressive string of expletives while Black*Star was rambling on about 'how dare she strike her god'. Eventually, all of them were able to make their way out of the restaurant with little to no fighting.

As they made their way down the street back to the DWMA, Maka thought back to the earlier interrogation. After the witch was removed, the homunculus named Buddy told a lot of stories. They were not the kind of stories that they were expecting. From the way that Buddy described him, it would seem that the witch was a good person, but then why would he have attacked Daren. It just didn't make sense. Her thoughts were taken back to the present, her phone rang out and she quickly brought it out. Flipping it open, the caller ID read 'Papa'. She rolled her eyes as she took the phone call, expecting some sort of gushy, overprotective conversation. Instead, he talked in a very level, brisk attitude.

"You need to get back right away." He said, almost coldly, "The witch is missing."

Her hand shot up, silencing the rest of the group as she listened carefully to Spirit. Apparently after the interrogation, Stein brought the witch back to his cell. After an hour they decided bring him some more food, when they opened the door all they found was an unconscious Buddy. Ever since then, they had been rushing around searching for him. They wanted the group to report back, then regroup with the Spartoi and track down the witch. Spirit gave a quick goodbye and hung up. Maka turned to the rest of the group and explained the situation. The laid back feeling dispersed and they quickened the pace, heading back to the DWMA was now more than just a destination. It had changed from a place to go, to a mission point. They took a few turns, quickly approaching the building when they heard someone cry out a few blocks away. Without anyone saying anything, they knew that they had to check on whatever made the noise.

As they turned the corner to the street, they emerged into what looked like a battlefield. A few people were lying on the ground and leaning against buildings. All of whom, were bleeding. There were a few moans as some of the injured shifted in their positions, clutching their wounds. A dark figure stood a couple of yards away from the mess in a large shadow. It lifted its head up into the air and turned to a spot away from the group. The figure stepped out of the shadow, his form flooded with light. The figure that stood before them was a large centaur-like creature. The hair on the part of him that looked like a horse was a midnight black; the sunlight shined off it like it was coated in a liquid. It took a moment before they realized the liquid was blood. Not the creatures blood, most likely blood from all the wounded around them. The human part of the creature turned its attention to the figure in front of him.

"Where is he!" the creature yelled, his voice rugged and rough. A small figure cowered in front of it, pressed between the beast and the wall behind it. The voice that answered was shaky and familiar.

"Who?" it asked. After a moment, they all recognized the voice. Robin.

They started forward as the beast roared again. "You know damn well who! The boy! The witch! Don't lie; I can smell his scent on you!"

The figure drew a bow that had been on its back, notching an arrow it aimed it at the girl. Maka knew they would never make it, she was too far away. The group broke into a full sprint doing their best to try and protect the girl but it was too late. The arrow flew out from the bow, headed straight for Robin's chest.

* * *

><p>The witch bent over in the alley, putting his hands on his knees. He gasped for air while he hid in the shadows. He had been just able to put enough power into an ethereal spell. He had put his body into a smoky state, sliding out of the window and cracks in the wall. After he had made sure all of him was out of the building he put himself back into a solid form, trying to get a hold of his senses. He had just made it into the courtyard when he heard the alarm go off. He had sprinted out of there as fast as he could, he had just ducked into the dark crevice when the groups from the DWMA rushed out, trying to find him. He leaned against the wall, putting his head in his hands. He had been able to break off the cuffs, a minute after he was placed back in the cell. He didn't risk being there another day, he knew that his hours were numbered and he had no information that would give them a reason to let him live. Buddy had gotten up to question what he was doing, he pleaded for him to wait. Buddy had tried to reassure him that the people there didn't want to hurt him. Buddy was so naïve, perhaps too naïve. He had had to knock Buddy out. He then put Buddy on the bed. After he had checked the door once more, he drew a small rune seal under Buddy's shirt. Once he was safely away, he could summon Buddy. He just needed to get somewhere safe, and then he and Buddy would get on with their lives. He had lost both his knapsack and his cloak. The knapsack's contents were almost all replaceable.<p>

He would like nothing more than have his cloak and bag, they were his only possessions. They had so much sentimental value, but he wouldn't be able to appreciate them if he was killed. Maybe someday he could retrieve them, but that day was not today. He checked both ways of the street as he made his way out of hiding. Very few people had actually seen his face, most would only be able to identify him if he had his jacket; but he could never, ever be too careful.

He slipped through a few more backstreets before he heard the battle. He peeked out from behind his hiding place, trying to look at whatever was fighting. He sucked in a breath through his teeth when he saw him. The Huntsman. He had ditched him ages ago, how could he have found him? Buddy. He had smelled his scent on Buddy, and then carefully followed him, hoping to find him. After Buddy had gone into the DWMA, the Huntsman must have lost the trail. So now he was taking his anger out on some of the students here. Then again, maybe the students attacked him. The witch felt his heart rise at the thought. That must have been it. They hadn't detected him leaving; they had detected the Huntsman in the city. It was the DWMA's job to hunt down possible kishins; of course they had to deal with one that was in _their_ city. That means that he might just make it, they'll hear the Huntsman question about him. That could even reinforce the idea that they had him captured! The witch was so elated he punched his arm into the air. He and Buddy were free! He couldn't believe his luck. This was not normal. For once, his luck was actually good. For once, things went his way. Then he heard it. Everything fell down around him. That small, quiet, scared voice that rang out. That voice that turned his elation into horror. The little voice that quietly asked 'Who?' The voice of that one girl from class, the girl with the bird's name. It all came back to him. Robin.

The one girl he had helped before. The huntsman had her cornered; of course she carried her scent. She had been near him in close quarters. Not only that, he had given her an object cover with _his blood_. He had unintentionally put her into extreme danger.

It didn't matter to him, he could still leave. What was she to him? Some girl he tried to help? She wasn't anything to him. She was an enemy, someone from the DWMA. If she died, that would just be one less person trying to hunt him down and viciously kill him. Her death would give him a better chance of survival. Her death would be good for him. _Forget her_, he told himself, _don't help others_. He had helped people before, that just meant more trouble, he had himself and Buddy to think about. _Focus on Buddy_, he pleaded to himself, _he doesn't deserve what they might do to him if you get caught_. He could leave her. He could, and he should. He turned to leave, he took one step forward. An image of the past surfaced in his mind. An event from the past made itself clear in his mind. He immediately wheeled around charging into the opening, the arrow left the bow and flew towards Robin, who could only cringe and wait for her death. He held out his arm, focusing on the arrow. The arrow exploded in flames, its ashes falling to the ground. The Huntsman spun around, facing the witch. His face alive with surprise. But after seeing him, it turned into a face filled with a morbid happiness. He turned his body back towards the witch. His bow slung over his back, colliding with his quiver. He brought his arms down to his sides, grabbing at the large battle axes hanging from holsters on the front set of horse legs.

"Come and get me!" the witch shouted at as he turned and sprinted for the cities limits.

* * *

><p>Maka saw the witch burst out of a dark alley, disintegrating the arrow heading towards Robin. The strange centaur turned towards the boy, switching his weapons and galloping after him as they made their way out of the city. They ran to Robin, who was shaking from the close call.<p>

"What happened here?" Soul growled as he looked over at all the injured students. Robin leaned back against the wall, shivering slightly.

"We were told to go looking for the witch, even though no one is paired with me, they wanted us all combing the city. That… thing came up this path. He stopped dead in his tracks over there." She said, pointing at a patch of ground that was in the middle of an intersection of streets, "then he… just started screaming, screaming at us to tell us where _he_ was. We didn't even know what he was talking about. Then he pulled out those axes and just... just…"

Robin's sentence trail off, just gesturing at all the people around her. She wrapped her arms around herself while she stared at the ashes that were once an arrow that was meant to kill her.

"He… the witch… he helped me again. Why?" she wondered aloud. Maka was just as speechless as her, and then she remembered their mission. They still needed to recapture the witch. She told Robin to stay where she was, but of course she just shook her head.

"I can still help, I'm not even physically hurt." She said, her arms dropping to her sides, she put on a smile; doing her best to convince them. They couldn't waste time, so instead of trying to talk her out of it, she just ordered her to keep a safe distance from any combat. They all started down the path the witch had taken, it only took them a couple minutes to reach the edge of town. They saw obvious marks of small skirmishes on the road out, but the group was speechless at the sight before them.

* * *

><p>He was holding his own; at least that was what he was telling himself. He wasn't completely over the flu and his leg was still injured. The Huntsman had gotten much stronger since when he last saw him, that had been months ago. The last time he saw him, he had been a man on a horse. Now, after all the souls he must have eaten, he had become one with his horse. The beastly creature had enormous energy reserves, and a ridiculous amount of strength. The axes where mere blurs. Of course, the Huntsman was having trouble keeping up with his spells, but he was gaining on him fast.<p>

He was mostly just sending wave after wave of fiery walls and balls of fire. Things that didn't draw much energy but did enough to stop the Huntsman's advances for a time. His axes sliced through anything that went directly at him, but aiming at the ground in front of him would cause him to rear back and try a different route. The fire was causing the sand to turn to glass all around them. Small patches here and there were nearly completely formed. Each new strike drove the huntsman more and more away from the city. He hoped that the fight wouldn't last much longer, so he could possibly still escape. Deep down, he knew he'd never get away. He no longer had the time or energy to do it. So he had to settle with beating the Huntsman. It had been around seven minutes since he led the Huntsman away; he had blasted him with fire balls that kept him reeling. But after they had broken out of the city, he was at a disadvantage.

The Huntsman was both bigger and faster than him. Now that they were in an open space, the huntsman no longer had to worry about being confined. With the thin streets, the Huntsman had to maneuver around the attacks. Now he could simply dodge and go in for another attack.

The axe swung just above his head as he ducked down, he could feel the air rush that followed behind it, he couldn't fight this close quarters, not without a weapon. He rolled out of the way as the axe embedded itself into the sand next to him; the Huntsman reared back, dragging the axe out of the ground. He brought both up into the air as he reared up again, bringing them down lightning fast. The witch dove under his legs as both axes fell together into the ground. The witched rolled out from underneath the Huntsman, aiming both hands at the ground where the axes where buried. The sand was ignited for a couple seconds; the Huntsman drew his hands away from the open flames. When they died down, the axes were encased in solid glass. The Huntsman roared in anger as he turned back towards the witch, one of his hands closed around the hilt of the only axe handle that wasn't encased in glass.

He brought his arm over his head, releasing his grip and hurling the glass case at the witch. He just managed to scuffle away from the spot where the case landed, the area exploded in a cloud of sand. The boy brought his hands up to his eyes, as he was blinded by the sand. He stumbled around, spitting the sand out of his mouth and getting the last big of sand out of his eyes. He looked up just in time to see the Huntsman swing down at him with a serrated sword. He rolled out of the way a split-second before the sword cut through the air where he was standing a moment ago. The Huntsman swung around, dragging his sword through the sand; the witch tried to jump backwards the sword coming right at him. Hoping he could make it out of the way.

* * *

><p>The sight before the group could be described as both beautiful and horrific. Streams of glass arched in every direction. The inside of the arcs were smooth and beautiful, while the outer edge of the arcs were jagged and terrifying. Swaths of arcing glass were all around, while new arcs were being added every second. The witch had somehow managed turning much of the surrounding desert into a deceptively beautiful ocean of crystal. The witch was at the center of the ocean, doing his best to avoid the centaur's swings. The centaur swung both axes over his head at the witch, who was able to get underneath him and transform the area around the axes to glass.<p>

The centaur moved deceptively fast, bringing the glass around and plowing it straight into the ground where the witch once stood. There was a massive burst of sand that settled quickly. The witch stumbled around, blinded by sand. The centaur's face was consumed by a cruel smile as he brought his hands to his side, peeling a long serrated blade out of its holster. With both arms over his head, he brought down the sword towards the witch who just barely stumbled away. The centaur release his left hand's grasp on the sword, he twirled around bringing the sword around with his right hand. The witch stumbled backward, but it was not enough. The blade passed through the witch's right arm, cutting it like a hot knife through butter. The cried out as he was flung backwards, his right arm fell to the ground by the centaur, who was cackling over the witch's blunder.

"You are arrogant and you are weak! That is why you shall lose!" it called out, flinging the witch's arm twenty feet away from the boy in the sand. The boy was bent over on the ground, his whole body shaking while he clutched at the stump that the arm was once attached to. Maka looked over to Soul, holding out her hand. Soul nodded absent mindedly, numbly turning into a scythe. Maka was frozen out of curiosity, examining the witch's fight. Now it was up to her to stop the centaur.

She read the witch's trembling at him crying over the loss of his arm and the pain it brought. She couldn't believe how wrong she was. The witch tipped his head back, letting out a psychotic laugh. He slowly stood up, facing away from the group and towards the centaur.

"Arrogant? Sure, you could call me that. But, weak?" the boy burst into another round of laughter. Maka began to believe that the boy really was psychotic, what was he talking about? He couldn't hope to beat the centaur with only one arm and that much blood loss. She caught her breath as the blood that was seeping out of the witch began to glow bright green. The veins all over the witch's body began to glow the same as the blood that was spilling out. The spilling blood stopped flowing entirely. The blood that had spilled out became alive, crawling along the ground like tiny tentacles. Once the glowing blood met the crimson red blood of the dismembered arm, the crimson blood began to glow slightly. Soon, the glowing green blood could be seen in the veins of the cut off arm. The fingers off the arm twitched slightly, and then curled up into a fist. The blood connecting the boy and the arm slowly rose into the air, creating a taut line between the stump of the boy and the arm on the ground. The blood began to run back into the boy's stump; the arm on the ground flew through the air, reconnecting with the stump. The cut edges of each of the parts glowed bright green. The veins in both the witch's body and the once detached arm began to dim; the glowing blood retreated back to the fusion from both directions. The glowing skin gave one final burst of light before the skin returned to normal.

The witch slowly felt different parts of his right arm, his hand slowly roving up his arm. Until he was rubbing his hand over the points at which the arm was fused. The witch chuckled before he spoke.

"Earlier, I was sick. I was injured. Thanks to that little scratch of yours, I am back up to normal." He said happily, flexing his right arm. He approached the centaur, which was backing away from the witch, "_You _are arrogant, and _you_ are weak. And that is why _you_ will lose!"

The witch brought his hands in, cupping them together. He closed his eyes and began chanting something that was incoherent to the group. His eyes shot open and glowed bright green, the same color as his blood had once been. His hands came apart reaching outward and upward until they were both apart and in the air, his arms extended as far as they could go. His hands slowly tightened until they were fists. He brought them back together, slamming his arms straight down into the sand in front of him. Everyone's breaths were held waiting for something to happen. After a couple seconds, the centaur began to laugh.

"What were you trying to do?" he mocked, taking a step towards the witch. The moment his hoof touched the sand, a blood red ring formed around him. He cried out as thin, sandy tentacles shot upwards; the tentacles began wrapping around the centaur's legs, arms, and body. He began screaming as the areas which were caught by the tentacles began to steam. The smell of burnt hair became unbearable. The centaur began begging the witch, begging for the witch to stop. The boy brought one hand up waving him farewell as the sand inside the ring began to glow. The centaur pleaded one last time before the sand around him burst into flames coming up over his entire body. The centaur only managed to scream for a moment before he was reduced to dust. The ring dispersed and the only thing occupying the space it once existed was a dark, red kishins egg. The boy slowly walked towards the egg, scooping it up with both hands.

He looked back at the speechless group, peering at them from across the almost endless waves of glass. He looked once more at the egg. Maka noticed the edges of the boy's mouth turn up into smile. He tossed the egg up in the air. He tipped his head back, swallowing the egg in one, big gulp.


	9. Courtyard Brawl

After all the time he had spent sitting on his ass, he could tell what exactly he had done wrong. He had gone a little overboard, actually more than a little. He was able to admit that to himself. But the looks on their faces had been well worth it. Even so, he felt like he had to make up for it somehow. But what exactly is the procedure for that? 'sorry about breaking out and scaring the living-bejesus out of you.'?

They must have been very confused or very upset, but with his luck they were most likely both. This wasn't just supposed to be fun, this was survival. Make sure they don't ever pin down what _exactly_ you are or how you function; once they do… they kill you. He'd seen it happen before, friends being killed as soon as people were done studying them, he had sworn to himself he'd never let that happen to him. They hadn't questioned him in a couple days; they brought him some food and let him go to the bathroom but other than that, nothing. He was pacing the room, 4 days of sitting around was killing him. It wasn't in his blood, and his brain was wired to do the exact opposite. He was beginning to have serious regret at his overkill, if this went on much longer he felt like he was going to crack. He had taken the liberty of carving up the walls, they might not be questioning him but he had the feeling that they were watching him. A few mysterious runic writings on the wall would keep them on their toes. There weren't any _real_ incantations or spells, mostly jumbled inane chatter, such as "The camera is claustrophobic; all in good fun of course. But that had gotten boring, and he had also run out of writing space. He had taken to meditating halfway through the second day; he hadn't done that in… years, at least. Meditating on the recent past, present, really whatever that would keep him from pacing. Going over the past week or so, trying to see it from Daren's perspective. Coming to the school was unheard of; it was risky, even for him. Whatever his purpose was, it was part of a much larger, complicated plan.

Buddy sat in the corner, fiddling with a tiny device. They had dismantled the nightstand so Buddy could use the wood to build small designs. A couple of basic shapes at first, but he was just about finished with a tiny wooden bird. After a few more clicks, Buddy silently handed him the bird. It only took him a second to give the tiny model life. The bird chirped and flew out the bared window. He envied the little blighter, just being able to flap its wings and escape. Why couldn't it be that easy for him?

"Are you talking to me yet?" he asked Buddy quietly, the silence in the room was response enough. After his escape attempt, Buddy had taken an oath of silence. The fact that he'd 'left him behind' upset Buddy more than he had predicted. Regardless of the fact that it was much safer here, he _had_ planned on getting him out. The rune was wiped away in his absence and Buddy refused to believe him.

4 days, 96 hours, 5760 minutes, 345,600 sec- he couldn't bear it anymore. He hopped off the bed, swiping his jacket up with one fluid motion, and walked straight for the door. They can kill him all they like, but he wasn't going to sit by and let them drive him _more _mad. The door blew off the hinges in a heartbeat; it only took him a couple minutes to bound up the steps into the sunlight. Luckily no one was out of class to see him. He marched along the familiar path to the Death Room to pick up his stuff. It was much too cramped in that little room, he needed to spread his wings.

* * *

><p>Soul was most assuredly dying or boredom. He sat half-asleep, gnawing absentmindedly on his pencil. He had managed to write out a couple stanzas before half-falling asleep and half-passing out; unfortunately for him, every time he did, Maka would jab him in the side. He had to wonder why she even kept him around, if she sharpened her elbows she could be a one-meister killing machine. Eventually he had just come to the point of passing notes back and forth with Black*Star, each time having to use a new sheet because Black*Star found it necessary to use the entire sheet to proclaim his greatness.<p>

The meeting was unusual, even by their standards. If there was ever any important information that needed to be shared, Lord Death would normally just broadcast it out to all the different posts. Instead, he found himself cramped in the Death Room shoulder to shoulder with all the head meisters and death-weapons. Uncomfortable didn't begin to describe the atmosphere. He was just beginning to formulate an excuse to leave when the door burst open with an unexpected thud.

The witch strode down the the pathway and across the room without a care in the world, humming a tune as he snatched up the knapsack that lay in a heap against one of the columns. When he finally turned around his jaw dropped. Soul wasn't sure who was more surprised, the gigantic group of meisters and weapons or the witch. The witch shook his head, a small frown on his face.

"now that's just awkward... well, bye!" he said at last, turning to exit the Death Room. He only made it four steps before he had half a dozen weapons at his throat. He managed to mumble "that's just rude", before sending out an orb of pressure knocking all the weapons to the ground. He ran his hand along his neck and examined it, pleased by the fact that there were no cuts he turned to face the group, half of whom were still in shock, another time. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, thoughtfully tapping a finger against his chin. Finally, with a mere shrug he turned and ran out of the room.

There was a lull in the room as everyone slow came to their senses, Maka turned to Soul giving him a quizzical look and a nod. Soul's only response was a grunt, as they both sprinted after the witch.

* * *

><p><em>Of course that would happen<em>, was the only thing that he could think as he made a mad dash for the exit. They hadn't been just toying with him for the past four days, they had been gathering a massive... what is it? A group? A gaggle? A herd? Whatever it was, they were an angry mob with things _slightly_ better than pitchforks and torches. He was royally screwed and he knew it. The shock wave he had sent out had been purely instinctive, he had of course meant to apologize for it but what could he have said 'sorry for possibly concussing your buddies.'? And as he thought about it, he realized the apologies that he had been meaning to give were really starting to stack up.

After the fifth wrong turn, he gave up looking for a door and decided to make one, blasting a crater the size of a sedan in the wall and making a not so graceful flop onto the ground. Lying in the courtyard brought back some not-so-pleasant memories. The fight in the rain, that had been a mistake. But he had been hunting down Daren for _four years_, when else was he going to get another shot like that?

As he began to peel himself off the concrete he heard soft thuds all around him, meaning that the party had finally caught up with him. He wasn't a fan of last stands, but it didn't appear he had much choice in the matter.

A ring of fire sprang up around him, burning so intense that the few projectile weapons that came close ricocheted away. With a potential upper hand he took the liberty to fire out a couple of wind bolts knocking a majority of the on comers off balance, with the opportunity presented he slammed his fist against the ground. Cracks grew from inside his protective bubble like a spiderweb, ripping the sturdy ground from the enemies feet. With a couple of the attackers incapacitated he took the chance to make a break for it. The protective fire bubble dispersed in a brilliant flash of light and intense heat, stunning the remaining enemies. He broke out and sprinted for the steps but was quickly cut off by the same blonde girl that had saved his life, who didn't look half as merciful now. She brandished the same scythe as before and took a determined step towards him.

"Can't we just cuddle?" he whined as he jumped backwards, narrowly missing a decapitating swing. He barely noticed the light footsteps behind him in time, sidestepping as a blade sliced through the air where his back would've been. The boy with spiky blue hair redirected himself, springing at the witch once more. He swung his dagger-like weapon in an undercut, grazing the witch's chin. The witch felt a burst of pain and sank to the ground on one knee, the boy with striped hair stood several feet back holding two smoking guns, the witch rolled away as the ground he had stooped on became riddled with bullets. From across the courtyard, he heard several other meisters closing in. he turned to see around a dozen pairs of meisters and weapons only 10 yards away, he flicked his hands up and a fiery wall burst up from the ground, blocking their approach.

When he turned around the pig-tail's shouted "witch hunter!" and swung the now-glowing scythe, sending a devastating shock wave straight at him. He put up a thin barrier that ricocheted the attack towards the boy with stripped hair while simultaneously launching himself at the boy with blue, spiky-hair.

Catching the boy off guard, the witch flipped over his back. He cast short spell and drilled both his hands at the boys back, rocketing the boy at the trio. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, when he looked up the stripy-hair screamed "Death Cannon!", sending an energy wave the size of a small car at him. He quickly leapt away, and extended his arms. Ghostly chains shot out of his sleeves wrapping tightly to the glowing orb; as the witch landed he contorted his body, bringing the orb in a wide circle and hurling it back at the group. The ground where the group had been standing exploded in a grim cloud that smelt like sulfur, but the trio was too fast. They flanked him each coming from a different direction. Spikes' body was covered in dark markings; his shadow leapt from the pavement, sailing towards the witch at insane speeds. He barely had time to lift a wedge out of the ground splitting the shadow into two separate paths, the two ends spun around diving at him once again. Instead of fleeing, the witch lunged at the wispy spikes, wrapping his hands in the swirling darkness.

A smell of Ozone filled the air and his muscles tensed. A bolt of lightning struck the witch and the blast traveled up the lines towards spikes, the impact knocking him into the side of the school; as raining bits of rubble fell around him, he slumped over, panting heavily.

That was one out of the way. The flaming wall behind him sputtered and died, letting all the meisters it had been holding back through. The witch groaned, this was going to be a handful. Just then he had a genius plan, totally flaw-proof.

"Time-out!" he shouted holding up his hands in a T-formation, a psychotic grin on his face. Although, he learned, the the DWMA apparently didn't operate under those kinds of rules. He ducked under two strikes and had to roll away as the ground beneath him blew to bits. "Cheaters!"

He knew he couldn't beat them all on his own, but maybe if he even the playing field... he hadn't tried the spell before, hell, he didn't know if the damn thing even worked, but he raised his hands and shout out a magical projection in every direction. It took a moment but he heard faint cracking in the distance, all he had to do now was keep himself from being massacred for a minute. Stripes was not having any of that. He shouted, "Death Cannon!" once again, and this time he didn't miss. The area around him blew to shreds, except a single standing obelisk of stone that crumpled away, revealing the witch unharmed. The smoke choked him and made his eyes burn, he darted out of the thick only to be greeted by more meisters brandishing very not-nice things. The 'Death Cannon' was his priority now, he knew that one hit from that and things could all be over, he just needed a diversion to get in nice and close.

As if they had read his mind, the golems burst over the crest of the stairs. Their were all shapes and sizes, a couple teddy bears wielding machetes as big as themselves, humorously, there were statues _of_ some of the DWMA meisters, a few griffons and lions. But the most terrifying of them all was the clown, with a demented smile and holding two halberds the size of small cars. It raised the two blades high above his head.

"Protect the master!" it howled, its voice sounded as if its throat was made of sandpaper. The golems charged into the group, causing a near panic. The meisters began to reorganize themselves in order to defend themselves from the onslaught of golems. In the confusion, the witch managed to slip up behind stripes. Just as he was about to strike, a scythe slashed through the air in front of him, colliding with the pavement with a dull clang. Stripes spun around, unloading the guns point bank at the witch. Dipping underneath stripes and popping up on the other side, he began a dangerous battle with the two meisters. He ducked under the girl's strikes and rolled away from the boy's attacks, maneuvering the two of them into his trap. The center of the courtyard seemed so far away to him, the small progress he _was_ making could easily be taken away if they switched tactics. Luckily, they didn't catch onto the fact that he was stringing them along. Then again how could they? There were no evident markings, he had not made any mention, bodily or verbally, that there was indeed a trap. One left over from that rainy night, granted it wasn't going to be use for the _intended_ target, but at least it wasn't going to waste.

He carefully leapt and bound and snared his way across the courtyard, ducking under attacks from both meisters and golems alike. The golems were indeed doing their best, but they weren't exactly the most deft fighters. The golems more or less stumbled around swinging at the nearby meisters. This should've made the battle completely downhill, but luckily the golems felt no pain and had no vital organs; if they were to be stopped, they had to be completely destroyed. He dived under another blast, the Death Cannon would wipe him out if he didn't complete his task.

He was only a few feet away when a blue blur flashed towards him.

"Don't count me out yet!" screamed Spikes, hurling himself forward. He was persistent, the witch had to give him that. He ducked under the arrogant boy's swing, delivering a swift uppercut to his chin. The boy reeled back from the hit, grasping his chin. He had a look of surprise that was quickly whisked away and replaced with a gaping smile.

"The witch knows how to throw a punch? That's more like it!" he shouted, posing for another attack. The witch stooped down, picking up two pieces of rubble. With a burst of light, the two shards into glowing shafts of light.

"The _witch_ can do more than that blue boy." the witch snarled. He was running low on energy, anymore powerful spells would leave him with less than what he needed for his trap. That was alright with him, he wouldn't mind knocking some sense into the bastard. The boy came running at him, bringing his arm around for a hard right hook. The witch smacked the arm away while simultaneously slipping the other pole between his legs. With terrifying force the witch flipped the boy over, slamming him into the ground.

"Bit more fight than you're used to?" the boy remarked playfully, prodding the boys chest with the pole. The boy reached up with startling dexterity, ripping the staff from the witch's hand.

"Most witch's don't _live_ long enough to fight like this!" he yelled, flipping himself back on his feet. He brought the staff up in the air, breaking it on his knee. The staff shattered, but sent along with it a shock wave of magic energy sending him head over heels for about 10 yards before he fell in a steaming lump.

"You're friend over there isn't the 'look before you leap' type, is he?" the boy asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Not exactly." Stripes replied, slightly annoyed. The witch turned his head to see the boy charging up his 'Death Cannon', he instinctively dove away. He brought him self up on one knee and grasped blue's foot. Dragging him over and propping him up in front of him. Stripes lost his nerve and raised his guns in the air, firing off the deadly burst like it was some sort of flare. With all the confusion he hadn't noticed where the boy had stepped to take his shot. A grin burst across his face, he had been working so hard to lead him there and the idiot walked across it on his own free-will. The blue headed nimrod stirred in his hands, muttering something about his greatness. With one heave, he lifted the boy up tossing him at Stripes. The boy stumbled back, surprised by the witch's willingness to give up a perfect meat-shield.

As he stumbled under his friends weight, the witch took his chance. The ground beneath him glowed a brilliant blue, before bursting in a flash of light. Standing in the middle of the courtyard now stood a new statue; Stripes was holding on precariously to Spikes, his mouth open in a noiseless scream. The witch turned to flee again but was blocked by the same girl as before, her eyes gleamed in the sunlight with tears she had not yet shed. The boy took a step to advance towards her but she brought her scythe up into the air as it began to glow a dangerous blue.

"You KILLED my friends!" she screamed, her voice in agony. Her eyes burned with a mixture of sadness and rage, a dangerous combination to be sure.

"two things," the witch began, choosing his tone carefully, "first, you attacked me. I was willing to leave peacefully but you had to go and start something. Secondly, if it helps, they're made of granite and I don't mean to brag but I have some _fine_ craftsmanship."

Apparently, she wasn't in a joking mood. She raised her scythe to strike, but the witch moved faster. He slammed his staff into the ground, then slammed both hands into it's side. The ground carried the staff forward at astonishing speeds. The staff slammed into her left knee, forcing her to fall to the ground; the scythe continued on its swing, striking the ground and sending out the familiar pulse. The blue wave traveled out and struck the side of the DWMA building, leaving a sloppy crescent shape scar in the side. The girl slowly rose off the ground, using the scythe for support. She breathed heavily, her face in anguish, but she refused to cry in front of him.

"It doesn't have to end like this." the witch pleaded, holding his arms out. He felt cold metal press against his neck. The witch slowly turned around, half in shock. The battlefield was littered with the battered and crushed bodies of golems. Some were shattered, others were sliced, even a couple looked like they had been flattened but nonetheless, his army had been defeated. The creepy clown lay on the ground its lower-half detached from its body. It turned its terrifying face back towards the witch.

"I'm sorry... master... we have fai-" it wheezed before its head was crushed by a very unhappy meister holding his bleeding side. The witch looked up to face his captor. The man from the interrogations looked down at him, the sun reflected off his circular glasses and the cigarette in his mouth was down to nearly the stub.

"Unfortunately, it does." he said disappointedly, as if an experiment had failed. And with one fluid motion, decapitated the witch.

* * *

><p>Maka slunk to her knees, shaking in a fit of tears. Soul returned to his normal form, and shrunk down next to her holding her as she cried in his arms.<p>

"They're gone." she wept. Soul held her tight as he felt her fingers grip his shoulders tighter.

"Don't say that," he said, his voice cracking, "Kim might have something to fix this, we can't give up."

He knew better though, Kim specialized in regeneration. He had no idea if she could do anything about stone. He felt her stir and he let go, giving her space. She stood up shakily, her knee in pain. She crept over to the statue of her friends and put her hand against Kid's side. Her eyes glazed over as if she were in a trance. Soul stood up, huffing and stomping over to the witch's soul that was hovering in the air. He swiped up the soul in a furry.

"You happy now you bastard? Are you!?" he shouted, though Soul knew he couldn't hear him. He was upset, upset at the witch for killing his friends, upset at himself for not killing him when he had had the chance, upset at the other meisters for not stepping in in time and helping prevent this. But in the end, he was just upset at his helplessness, there was nothing he could do to help.

"I would let go of that if I were you." a voice echoed from across the courtyard. Soul spun around, spotting the source. The homunculus that had been traveling with the boy (what was his name? Buddy?), walked across the battlefield, stepping over golem corpses.

"Why? Want to honor this bastard? After all this!" he shouted, sweeping his hand across the courtyard. Bleeding meisters moaned on the ground, there were battle scars etched into the ground and walls of the courtyard, golems lay broken and battered all around, and at the center of it all stood a painful memory of his lost friends. The homunculus shook his head, looking down at a watch on his hand.

"Not that, you have about... 7 seconds til something very bad happens to you." he deadpanned.

"What's that, you gonna hurt me?" Soul growled, as he took a step towards the boy. Suddenly all around him he heard gasps and shrieks, he turned to see Maka wide-eyed and mouth agape. Suddenly he noticed that his hand felt... wet. He slowly turned around to see the witch standing before him, fully materialized with Soul's hand embedded in his chest.

"No... that." Buddy groaned from behind him. The witch looked around the battlefield, checking the damage in front of him before turning his gaze to himself. He poked at Soul's protruding forearm with disdain.

"You know," he began, slightly irritated, "If you're going to be _inside_ me like this, you should at least buy me dinner first."

* * *

><p>Sorry! is about the only thing i can think of. it appears i'm back from the dead. but to be honest, i wrote (and rewrote) this chapter around 20 times and none felt right to me, but then i was able to flesh this out in under a week. anyway, i should be uploading on a regular basis (hopefully), now that my writer's block has cleared. hope you enjoyed!<p> 


	10. The Girl in the Alley

Soul stood, both surprised and confused for a moment. When his senses finally rushed back to him he stumbled backward, tugging away from the witch, who was now attached to the end of his arm, but only succeeded in dragging the witch along with him. The witch could only grunt in displeasure as he was nearly torn from his footing.

"Watch it!" the witch growled holding onto Soul's wrist. "I'm not some sort of tinker-toy, don't poke around in there!"

The witch reeled back, dragging Soul along with him. Suddenly turning the very serious moment into a childish game of tug-of-war. The two grunted as they hobbled back and forth, vying for control of the situation, neither gaining the upper hand. After a couple moments it became apparent that they were getting nowhere, and with an unspoken truce both of them came to a standstill. Soul huffed angrily, crossing his arms in displeasure as he stared daggers at the witch. The witch shook his head in annoyance; neither was willing to be at fault for their current predicament.

"Very interesting" Stein remarked, examining the fused flesh. He prodded at the strange mass, deep in thought. Soul could only imagine the horrors going on inside that nightmare factory he called a brain; whatever was going to be next on the dissecting table was going to have a _really_ bad day.

"Don't do that, my pancreas is very ticklish." the witch snorted while swatting the man's hand away; although the witch poked the strange flesh himself, clearly bemused by the newly learned fact that internal organs can, indeed, be ticklish.

"This is so wrong." Soul muttered. The witch gave no sign that he heard him, as he was busy concentrating, most likely trying to think of a way out of this mess without being disembodied again. His hands began to glow as they inched towards the point of contact.

"As far as I can tell, no one's toying around with your innards are they? So who really has the short end of the stick here?" the witch grumbled as his hands darted inside his own body. The boy made an odd face, looking like he wanted to both laugh and throw up at the same time. After a moment, Soul felt something close tight against his hand, it stung like he was being burned but he grit his teeth as the witch slowly dragged his hand closer to the surface. There was a strange sizzling sound as his palm touched the fresh air, he felt woozy for a moment like the world had turned upside down. The witch gave one final tug and Soul's hand popped out of the witch's chest along with the witch's hands. There was a smell of burning flesh in the air, but the witch seemed in decent condition, considering the circumstances. The witched glanced down to make sure there was no surface damage and was irritated to find there was a circular hole burnt into his shirt. He flicked the edges carefully, grumbling about how it was his last one. After losing interest, he flexed his arms and yawned.

"Just the leg stretcher I needed." he said blissfully, facing the sun, letting the rays wash over his face. Buddy let out a gruff cough, striding up to the witch and smacking the boy over the back of the head. The boy let out an annoyed moan as he held the back of his head, he glared up ready to pounce on whoever hit him, stopping short the moment Buddy's face came into view. With the witch's attention obtained, Buddy swept his arm, gesturing at the courtyard around them, his big eye twitching with annoyance.

"See what your little 'leg stretcher' caused?" he scolded agitatedly. "The hell is wrong with you?"

The witch glanced sheepishly around himself yet again. Tripping over his words while Buddy held up a hand threateningly. Soul made a somewhat concerning connection between the homunculus's behavior and his own meister's behavior, the similarities were uncanny.

"I suppose a 'My bad' is in order then?" the witch coughed awkwardly.

"You killed my friends." Maka deadpanned, keeping her emotions in check. The witch let another psychotic grin burst over his face.

"Not dead." he said, "I prefer to think of it as 'temporarily detained'."

His use of finger-quotes was unsettlingly suspicious, but they watched expectantly as he strolled up to the statue and slid his hand along the smooth edge. The statue seemed to hum the moment the witch's hand made contact, as if responding to his presence. The witch stared happily up at the statue, proud of what he called 'craftsmanship'. Unexpectedly, he reached up and tore an arm off of Black*Star. The standing and able meisters jumped into action, taking quick strides towards him. But before they could reach him, the witch turned around, laughing at the group.

"You should see… the looks… on your faces!" he managed to say between cackles, letting the arm plop to the ground with a dull thud.

"You ripped his damn arm off!" Soul retorted, advancing excitedly at the witch. The witch rolled his eyes; the information gap between the groups was becoming both very apparent and quite a hassle.

"These aren't the actual bodies," he sighed, picking wax out of ear, examining the refuse before flicking it away, "I'm not _that_ stupid, thank you. This is merely a vessel." he shifted his body toward Maka, giving her a cheeky wink, "Told you I had good craftsmanship."

"What do you mean vessel?" she asked warily, motioning for Soul to back away in case it was another trap.

"Calm down princess, it works as a doorway." the boy stated simply, pacing around the statue until he faced it head on, "Put things in and retrieve them, sort of like a storage space; your friends are floating completely unharmed in a sort of limbo as we speak. Unfortunately, the door can only be opened by the witch that created it. You're lucky I'm a _lot_ sturdier than I look."

He rubbed the base of the statue till it shined, giving another half cocked grin as he licked his palm, slamming it against the well polished spot; a green circular opening appeared, hovering in the air, its edges rippling with divine magic power. Kid, Black*Star, Patti, Liz and Tsubaki were launched out of the hovering portal, landing in a cacophony of moans and grumbles and a heap of limbs. They groaned as they all stood up, looking pale and uncertain of their surroundings. Everyone except for Black*Star that is. He stood up and stretched out his arms like he had just woken up from a damn _cat nap_.

"What did I miss?" He asked with a big smile on his face, he turned slightly to see the witch leaning against the base of the statue, his smile disappeared, replaced with knitted eyebrows and pouty lips while the witch's smile grew wider. "Why is he still breathing?"

"Long, _weird_ story." Maka sighed, glaring at the witch, "That's only a drop in the bucket though."

The witch winced as he became brutally aware of the rest of the damaged area around him, shaking his head with displeasure.

"This is going to hurt... a lot." he muttered under his breath, shaking out his limbs. The witch's entire body tensed, and the air seemed to grow thick around him.

"What are you talking about?" Soul tensed, taking a step back out of precaution, half expecting the witch to break out into a second fight. Before anyone could do anything the witch held both of his arms high in the air, creating a cradle in with his cupped hands, a glowing orb slowly growing and filling the cradle. The orb began to pulsate as it grew, beating once every few moments before the pulse quickened into a furious pace. The area around them began to waver like a mirage. Both the meisters and the environment began to glow along with the orb. The moaning meisters hushed and relaxed, the damaged structures began to seal themselves, seemingly of their own accord. Shattered stone floated back into elongated gorges and craters, even dust began to fill in the space between the cracks. The red stains that littered the incapacitated meister's clothing began to disappear, broken and sprained bones and joints began to reset themselves. After a few moments, the courtyard and the meisters looked much better. Some of the lesser injured combatants stood up and dusted themselves off. By the looks of things, things would appear to be back to normal in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, the orb began to pulsate erratically, the color distorting with each passing moment. Buddy reached out and shook the witch out of his trance like state, causing the orb to disappear and the regeneration to stop. The grounds were nearly completely fixed, what were once deeply-etched scars were merely scratches on the walls and ground. Most meisters appeared to be nearly completely healed; the rest only had barely noticeable cuts or disfigurements.

"Impressive." Maka muttered, half in shock. Soul could only nod along with the sentiment; his voice was either stuck in his throat or halfway to Cancun by now. If the witch had the ability to pull something like that off was he merely toying with them at this point? The boy put his hands in the air, jokingly waving them around.

"Magic!" he cooed, taking a step towards the disturbed group. As soon as his foot left the ground, the boys head lolled to the side, and his eyes rolled back inside the head. Buddy jumped forward and grabbed him before he was able to fall to the ground; _so much for the witch 'just toying with them' _Soul thought, slightly relieved. The witch struggled against Buddy's hold, but gave up shortly.

"I need to eat… and sleep… and **barf**." The boy moaned, unfortunately adding emphasis to the final note. Buddy's face dropped at the mention of the last action. The boy used Buddy as leverage, carefully placing his feet on the ground. He shakily took a few steps forward.

"Priority one is food." He groaned patting Maka on the shoulder as he passed by, "you're covering the tab, sweetheart."

* * *

><p>After a very tedious stroll through the city, they finally found a buffet that hadn't banned Black*Star or himself.<p>

The décor was… minimalistic. There were a few tattered paintings on the wall, and a statue with chipped paint. The smell coming from the kitchen was too sweet, as if someone had dropped an entire bin of sugar on the floor. There weren't any actually customers inside, except for a drunken man that was sleeping in a disturbing pile of his own filth. No one in the group would have even considered the place, but the moment the witch had caught sight of it, he had beamed with delight. The boy dashed straight for the buffet table, filling up three plates to their capacity before finally sitting down at a table. He began digging into his food at an unsettling rate. Soul would almost have been impressed if he weren't so disgusted; he made a note to himself to chew his food the next time he ate. Maka explained to the rest of the group what had happened while they were gone, and informed Buddy what his friend had done. Buddy shook his head after hearing the asinine tale.

"I honestly can't believe you sometimes." Buddy sighed, rubbing his temples as he stared down at the witch, who was currently preoccupied diving into plate seven.

"Boohoo, the big bad witch had a little fun at other people's expense. Honestly that couldn't be more me." The witch choked out, halfway through a piece of chicken. He took a few more chomps out of the chicken before dropping it and grasping at his stomach. Soul was slightly worried that someone had poisoned his meal(he did plan on getting revenge for the whole hand thing after all), but all fear was shed after he saw how green the witch's face was.

"Bathroom!" He managed to groan, as one of his hands closed around his mouth.

"It's the first door on your left." Buddy advised as he pointed to the nearest hallway. The boy shot like a rocket down the hallway, the door to the bathroom slamming behind him as he began to make ungodly sounds.

"Now that he's not here," Buddy began, carefully peering over his shoulder to ensure no interruptions from his sickly friend, "there are a few things I need to make clear. I don't know you people, he doesn't know you people, and most importantly, none of you know us. That isn't necessarily a terrible thing, most people that do know him want to decapitate him, but that's beside the point. While you were all occupied, I couldn't help but notice the little problem that you've caught on to." Buddy said. His eyes darted around the room nervously, looking for possible threats or last resort exits. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the subject as touchy to him as it was to the rest of the group.

The door to the bathroom swung open lazily. The witch exited shakily from the entry-way, wiping his arm across the mouth. Buddy turned around, surprised at the sudden re-entry. The witch waved wearily at Buddy, a tired grin on his face. There was some shouting from the kitchen, the sweet smell was overshadowed by a dank, sour smell filled the air and a black cloud exploded from the doorway. The witch gripped his mouth again, spiraling around and diving back in the bathroom, dragging the door behind him. Buddy let out an exasperated breathe, turning back to the group.

"I can explain more about this later. Right now, all you need to know is: we're on your side and we can help, whether he's willing to admit that or not." Buddy relaxed. He lazily looked back as the bathroom door opened again; the witch tumbled out, leaning against the wall for support. A weary look of worry flashed over Buddy's face as he turned to the group for the last time.

"Oh, and don't call him a 'son-of-a-bitch'." He whispered to them.

"Why?" Soul chuckled, amused at the seemingly random bit of information.

"Long story, but suffice it to say that they're still finding all the pieces of the last guy who did." Buddy quipped sinisterly, the pupil of his big eye dilating slightly. He fell silent as the witch approached the table, waving away some of the dank smoke that was beginning to crowd around their table. Usually, when someone used that statement, Soul assumed they were embellishing the facts, making them seem tougher, but he actually believed Buddy was telling the truth.

"Whatever you do, don't go in there." The witch sighed as he fell into his chair, his head lolling from side to side. His face appeared slightly less green but he didn't look anywhere near 100%.

"That is utterly disgusting." Kid groaned into a napkin.

"Thank you ever-so-much for your concern, Stripes." The witch muttered as he rested his head on the table in front of them.

"Stripes?" Kid choked, mouth agape as he stared in disbelief at the witch. The witch chuckled from behind his hands, clearly satisfied by Kid's reaction. Soul did his best to repress a snort but Black*Star laughed along happily.

"I don't know your names, I took the liberty to give you a couple myself." The witch said, resting his head against his shoulder. "and I wouldn't laugh to hard if I were you, spikes."

"Change it to Spikes: The harbinger of your doom, and I'm fine." Black*Star agreed, downing the rest of his drink. His eyes wandered over to the far end of the dining hall, resting on a rather large aquarium. "Oh, fish."

Without another word, he stood up and walked over to the display shortly followed by the rest of the group, save Soul and Maka, who could only stare on completely confused.

"My God." Buddy breathed wide-eyed at the disturbing display in front of them, "Their like toddlers."

The witch looked disappointedly at his plate of food, scooting the dish away suddenly losing his appetite. He decided to instead to observe the others.

"A couple minutes in Limbo tends to do that to a person. You should've seen the guy that was stuck in there for over a day, totally convinced he was a rabbit, had a real craving for carrots after that. Nice guy." He murmured as he watched on with Buddy.

Soul would normally shrug off the antics, even if it wasn't their fault, but they were here with… he wasn't even sure what to make of the witch anymore. He could easily run now if he wished, they would have to chase him but that probably was of no concern to the witch; he had in fact attempted twice already. Either way, he should at least be handled with a mild sense of concern. But, no, he's friends were content with drooling over some stupid fish in a back-alley buffet. Though it was mildly entertaining to watch his friends make fools of themselves, but there was something that was bothering him.

"What's my name?" he asked the witch. He felt a little childish for wondering, but the others had gotten names. What about him. The boy looked up from his drink with a devilish smile as he began fiddling with his straw absentmindedly. He quietly hummed along to the theme of jaws, turning again to the commotion.

"Great White." He said with a chuckle. The look on Soul's face must have been good because the boy couldn't help but laugh again.

"Gre- why?" he choked. He wasn't exactly upset, just confused.

"Partially the hair, mostly the chompers." He stated, clacking his teeth together for emphasis. Great white, like the shark, suddenly everything was OK. He turned with a smug look on his face to his meister.

"I'm a shark, sharks are cool." He said dumbly, a stupid grin on his face. Maka shook her head, groaning at the entire group.

"You're all children." Maka said, clearly agitated, she turned on the witch, "You're infectious."

"I'm fun." The witch retorted, nibbling at a slice of meat. He stuck his tongue out, clearly disgusted. Soul could tell from across the table why. He had done his fair share of hurling but that stench was definitely not human. He felt like he was going to fall out of his chair. The witch shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his jaw constantly moving as if he was trying to find a comfortable(or at least not disgusting) area to place his tongue, but to no avail. "Does anyone have mouthwash… or gum… or tar. Anything that can get this taste out of my mouth?"

Soul dug around in his pocket, fishing out a half melted peppermint, wasn't much but he figured it was better than nothing. He slid it across the table to the witch's waiting hands. He popped the treat in his mouth, sucking on it a few moments.

"better, too bad there isn't a spell for fresh breathe." he grumbled as he looked back toward the ridiculous group. Maka finally got feed up with them, throwing herself out of the booth and stomping over towards the group, finally finished with their airhead behavior.

Soul got time to sit alone with the witch and it only began to occur to him that they really didn't have a reason to trust him. Sure he had fixed the grounds and healed the meisters, but he had caused it in the first place. He had outright attacked one of the new students and always refrained from giving them any usable information or legitimate reason to trust him. Suddenly it felt like the room had grown colder, he was sitting alone with a witch that couldn't be trusted. If he were going to attack, now would be the opportune moment to strike; they were all distracted and could easily be eliminated. Just as he truly began to grasp that horrifying thought, the witch peered up at him from underneath his deep-green hair, his eyes weren't human. Granted he was a witch, but even then witch's eyes looked relatively normal; normal eyes had pupils and blinked, the eyes he was staring into had no such features. Two quivering crimson slits that were some sort of excuse for pupils examined him, reminding him eerily of the first time he met stein, but something made him feel like the witch wasn't going to tear him apart for some scientific purpose. He was paralyzed with fear, deep down he knew he was going to die, and he would not go peacefully. Soul silently turned both arms into scythes under the table, waiting for the witch to make the first move. The slivers quivered at him one last time before the witch looked back down at his food. The witch looked up again and Soul was prepared to pounce the moment he moved an inch.

The witch's eyes weren't different anymore, if anything they were innocent. He stared confused at Soul's steely gaze, shifting in his seat to glance backward, only finding the homeless man fitfully sleeping through the babbling idiots. Soul relaxed, marking the occurrence up for the Black Blood. He noted the sweat drop running down the side of his face, taking in a shaky breathe as he put his scythes away. He flopped against the back of his seat; he decided his brain was officially messing with him.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" the witch wiped his sleeve across his face. When he couldn't find anything wrong, he relaxed back into his chair, content with staring out into nothing. They sat in silence for a moment before the sound of Maka's frustrated shouts for control rang over to them. He half hoped that Maka would MakaChops the group out of their stupor and make things return to some sort of normalcy. Soul lazily and reluctantly peeled himself off of the cheap leather with a groan and an almost embarrassingly loud Shlick and slouched his way over to the group. It was only when he got closer did he realize that Kid had decided to go for a swim, almost all of his upper torso submerged in the tank.

"I think you might want to stop him. The owner is giving us funny looks." Soul said drearily, trying to keep a sense of aloofness. Maka pouted slightly as she glanced over at the door to the kitchen, the man glaring back at her had a face that was turning from tomato to eggplant on the 'pissed-off-at-rowdy-customers' scale. Soul was beginning to contemplate getting violent when the witch calmly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Let me try something." He said, still sucking on the peppermint. Soul was expecting him to used some refined way to manipulate the boy out and calm him down. Was that his plan?

Nope. Frying pan.

Not very magical, but damn efficient. Kid didn't know what hit him, literally. After dragging his floating body out of the dirty fish water, flopping onto the ground with a rather disturbing splash.

"Sort of like hitting a TV to make it work; although, a TV doesn't tend to get upset or make… squishy sounds." The witch explained while he poked the boy with the pan. Kid made a coughing sound, signaling that he had not yet drowned, "Oh good, you're alive."

"One of the fish's stripes was off center." He stated simply, as if that was all there was to it; Then again, this was Kid they were talking about, that could be all that there was to it. The witch nodded along in a trance, as if that made perfect sense to him.

"Of course, that seems about ri- Wait a minute." He said, suddenly catching on to the absurdity behind Kid's reasoning (or lack thereof).

Kid stared up at the witch as if it were a perfectly reliable excuse to trash a restaurant. The witch looked to the rest of the group, most likely hoping that they didn't all function off of that kind of logic.

"He's a bit... neurotic." Maka said, carefully choosing her words. Soul decided to put it more plainly, twirling one of his fingers next to his temple. The witch let out a low 'Ah', nodding along with Soul's explanation.

"If it's about symmetry, isn't the human organ system asymmetrical?" He pondered out-loud, looking to Kid for confirmation. Unfortunately, that comment made Kid lose his mind again; luckily, the witch was still wielding his trusty frying pan. After making sure that Kid was no longer freaking out he placed the pan back on top of a table. He stung his tongue out a sad look on his face, "I think i need another peppermint."

The witch chuckled at himself before his whole body tensed. At first, Soul expected a band of commandos to burst through the shop windows by the way the boy was acting; but when he turned to follow the boys gaze, all he could see was the manager exiting the kitchen and walking towards the hallway.

"Run" the boy hissed under his breath, the edges of his mouth pulling down into a grimace. He shifted towards the door ready to bolt at the drop of a hat. "the bathroom... run."

The boy turned around and sprinted out the door followed closely behind by Buddy. Soul only had a moment or two to process what the boy had just said when he heard the manager shriek, "OH MY GOD!"

Soul began to think that the witch and Black*Star would've been really good friends in a different life as the whole group broke through the doorway. Patti laughed hysterically while dragging Kid along with Patti, her laughter mixing with the witch's as they ran far away from the restaurant that was now added to the list of 'places they can no longer go'.

* * *

><p>His stomach gurgled angrily as he began to unwrap the food he had just bought. He began to dig in to the sloppy burger, dropping toppings to the ground as they made the last turn towards the apartment complex that apparently belonged to the pigtailed girl and 'Great White'. After a few minutes of constant belly-aching he had succeeded in getting some food. In retrospect, getting food before being sick wasn't a clever choice. After throwing the crinkled paper into a nearby trashcan, he took out the second burger from the bag. He ignored the looks from the escorting group as he took a grisly bite out of the mediocre meat.<p>

"Why are we going to your place again?" He asked in between a set of particularly large bites. The girl in pigtails, he decided to call her grumpy, only shook her head, letting out a small sound of some sort of mix between annoyance and frustration.

"Roommate." Great white said simply, as if he was supposed to know what that meant.

"Roommate?" he questioned, trying his best to not sound too unhappy; the more time he spent tagging along with the strange gang, the less time he spent cooped up in a padded cell with much more security.

"Said it was an emergency." Great white said, sounding more and more unhappy with each passing step. The witch couldn't really relate, he hadn't had anything that resembled a home in a long time, much less a roommate; however, the witch trudged along with the rest of them until they were standing in front of a nominally large apartment building. He was about to follow them inside when he noticed the disturbance.

"You go ahead," He said, flashing his most convincing fake smile, "I just want to finish my burger."

Grumpy was about to object but Stripes simply nodded, probably worried about the witch making a mess of the stairs or hallways. After they had all departed, he was left alone in front of the building. Too open, he thought, steering himself towards the nearest alleyway. There wasn't much to see, but he took a careful look at the area around him. There was a large garbage bin filled to the brim with bags and two rusty, metal garbage cans, there was also a fire escape ladder that was also a good 10 feet off the ground. Not much to take in, but that only meant maneuvering around fewer objects. After finishing his burger, he tossed the paper into the nearest can and waited. Sure enough, two men dressed in suits rounded the corner; he briefly debated turning and running out the other way before a third man blocked off the last sane escape route. One of the men pulled out a small metallic object. He heard the all too familiar sound of a gun cocking and was greeted by a muzzle pointed at the center of his forehead.

"You know that won't do any good." The witch said shakily, it might not kill him permanently but it would hurt a lot. He resisted the urge to use any magic; after depleting his energy reserves once already today, he didn't think his body could take another without falling into a coma. The man with the gun motioned with his free hand and he noticed the man near the entrance of the alleyway turn around, reaching for something.

"It might not do anything to you," the man said coldly, reaching behind him and pulling out a struggling girl, no older than 9, "But it would undoubtedly kill her"

The witch cursed internally, but kept an aloof demeanor on the external. He casual glanced at the sky, as if the girl's life meant nothing, running through all the possible ways both he and the girl could leave the alley alive. He couldn't use magic, he couldn't outrun a bullet, and he most certainly couldn't talk any reason into the snakes that just cornered him. He resigned himself to considering something he swore he would never do, for the second time in one day. The men sneered at him totally unaware of what was about to happen. The girl sobbed quietly, pleading for her life. The man holding the gun became agitated, slamming the butt of the gun against her head. The witch winced and decided it was now or never to make his move.

"Now come quietly with us, or her blood is on your hands." He said as a devilish smile appeared on his face. The witch tilted his head slightly to the side, he could feel the power and was almost sorry for what he was about to do. He felt the area around him quiver and grow cold as his body dipped into his dark power, he felt his eyes change, his pupils shrinking into deranged slits and his recoloring and reshaping itself. He noticed the steady thrumming that engulfed the entire base of his skull, he pushed the feeling aside focusing on the terrible task at hand.

"He can't be trusted." He stated simply, his voice ringing strangely against the brick walls around him as if he were underwater. he nodded towards the man at the entrance of the alleyway, as if directing his meaning. The accused crook was taken aback, certainly not expecting the sudden outburst.

"What are you talking about?" He spat angrily, turning towards the man with a gun. "Kill the girl; we can take him by force."

Instead, the man stared into space the gun at his side. He mumbled slightly to himself, repeating the witch's words. "Can't be trusted, he can't be trusted."

The other men tensed, rattled by the man's sudden change of heart. The man at the entrance glanced out at the street, checking for witnesses, "C'mon, we don't have time for this."

The man lifted the gun up, but he didn't aim it towards the girl; instead, he aimed it at his accomplice. He simply stated "You can't be trusted."

"TOM WHAT ARE YOU DOI-?" he shrieked as his eyes widened before rolling back in his head. He crumpled to the ground in a heap. The man with the gun turned back towards the witch, a dazed and confused look on his face, but still very much in a trance.

"Tom... You're tired aren't you? Tired of this line of work." He asserted, his voice still quivering strangely, the man nodded along with the witch. "You can't have a normal life, not after all the lives you've ended... You should join them."

The man shakily raised the gun towards his own head, nodding as his hand shakily pulled the trigger. The girl screamed as he slumped over sideways, the gun skittering out of his hand. The witch released himself from the dark ability, feeling heat reenter his body.

Before the other man had time to do anything, the witch snapped his fingers. The latch to the fire escape ladder burst, releasing its cargo which slammed into the man's head. He fell over sideways while gripping his head with both hands. The witch jumped on him, pining both of his arms down in the process. He squirmed against the hold on him but gave up, scaring in shock up at the witch.

"What the hell are you!?" the man screamed in shock.

"Shut up! I'm asking the questions!" He shouted back, grabbing the back of his neck roughly. "Why did he send you after me?"

"I'll never talk; you'll have to kill me first!" He said, his voice shaking. He was clearly scared, scared of what might happen to him. The witch slammed the man's head against the ground.

"If you returned empty-handed, he'll kill you anyway." He reasoned; the man shook his head stubbornly, squirming more against the witch's hold. He wished it could've ended differently, just once he wished they would cooperate, give him a reason to let them live. He bowed his head, solemnly saying "If I let you go, you report back to him and tell him what you know… I can't have that."

The man's eyes widened, pleading for mercy as the witch pressed his free hand against the man's chin. He struggled against the witch's hold, one last time.

"I'm sorry. I truly am." He said, his hair shading his face from the sun. With a vicious twist and a sickening crack, the man laid still, forever. He stood slowly, shaking ever so slightly. He felt a tug in his stomach as he used some of what little magic reserves he had left to pull them into limbo, he couldn't leave the bodies behind to be discovered. When he turned he was face to muzzle with the gun, on the other side was the scared crying girl.

"What did you do to them?" She said. Her hand, and the gun as an extension, shook dangerously. He could see the fear in her eyes, the slight water glaze that gave away the fact that she was seconds from breaking down. He knew if that happened, she would just become a danger to herself.

"You don't want to do this." He said calmly, doing his best to keep his voice level. Her eyes widened, covering her ears with her hands.

"You're doing it to me now, aren't you!?" She shouted. She backed herself against a wall, shuddering at his mere presence.

"No, no I'm not. Look at my eyes, they're normal." He reassured her calmly, keeping a close eye on the gun that made him more and more nervous the closer it inched towards her own head. "I can take all the pain and fear away, I can make you forget. Would you like that?"

He took small steps towards her, each step making her flinch. Her fear was nearly tangible, but he could also feel her longing to forget. She slowly lowered the gun as he closed the small gap that was left. He reached down, tenderly taking the gun from her hands. He lifted up his other hand, holding two fingers to her forehead. He felt her breath graze his arm as the tips of his fingers began to glow. He drained out the fear and pain from the last couple minutes, replacing the terrifying memories with happy thoughts. After a moment, the light flickered out and she was left standing still. The fear in her eyes was replaced with confusion; she glanced around the grubby alleyway as she wondered how she got there.

"You should be more careful." The witch said, hiding the gun behind his back so she wouldn't see. "You should pick your shortcuts more carefully next time."

He motioned for her to hurry along, she smiled and waved goodbye as she skipped out of the alleyway and down the road. As soon as she was gone, he let out his held breath. He rested against the wall. Far too taxing of a day, he thought tiredly, tossing the gun into the trashcan. He rubbed his hands against his temples, grimacing at his actions.

Lucky, he thought. His guilt and sadness violently turning to anger. No one was around for me, why does she get this break? He felt the anger clawing up inside himself, attempting to consume him. It began to choke him, he knew he should feel fear from it, but he couldn't bring himself to care about his own well-being. Struggling. Just trying to make it. Am I the only one that has to feel that!? The anger began to close around his throat sealing it shut and making the edges of the vision grow dark. Just as he was about to be consumed completely, a voice rang out from the door to the apartment complex.

"Where are you?" he heard the voice of the neurotic boy. He let the anger disperse, his body feeling suddenly very tired. He unhappily trekked back out of the alleyway. When he rounded the corner, he let his hands fall from his temples to his sides, and replaced the tired expression with a fake smile.

"What was that noise? What's taking you so long?" Stripes said as he exited the building and walked towards him.

"Just some kid, showing off their firecracker collection." He said a little too fast. It was a stupid lie, but it was the only thing he could come up with off the top of his head. He patted the boy on the shoulder as he walked inside. "Let's not keep the others waiting."

After a couple flights of stairs they reached the door to Grumpy and Great White's apartment. The witched grabbed the door knob and walked inside the main room. Buddy was kneeling on the ground, his upper torso inside of a drying machine. There was a puddle all across the floor, originating from the washer/dryer pair.

"This was the emergency?" He chuckled, his voice barely audible because of his tiredness. Grumpy and Great white groaned in unison, clearly used to but not accepting of their roommate's behavior. He was about to make a snide comment but a sudden tiredness overwhelmed his body. He flopped down on the couch, stretching out with his feet and arms dangling off each end. He felt something jump onto his chest and looked up with surprise at two large orange cat eyes staring down at him, a vibration rushing across his chest as the cat purred.

"That would be Blair." Soul said leaning against the wall, a smile growing on his face for some unknown reason to him. Being on this side of the information gap sure is frustrating, he thought to himself, this must be what it feels like to be them all the time.

He laughed to himself quietly as he fell into a deep, well-deserved sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Not<strong>-story-stuff:

Don't underestimate frying pans... ever.

I tried adding more detail (thanks for the input), but reforming a writing style is a _tad_ bit harder than I originally anticipate.

Thanks for reading!


	11. The Way of the Lizard

Make yourself at home why don't you ? Soul thought, mildly annoyed at the fact that the witch felt entitled to sleep on his couch. Granted, the boy didn't look quite as crazy when he was asleep; with his feet dangling off one end and his head nestled into the far end of the couch, he looked almost like a normal teenager. Blair sat happily on his chest, her amber eyes staring down at his sleeping face that only she could see because of the tilt of his head. The witch draped one arm over the cat, holding it close to his chest as he let out a content sigh in his sleep.

"Can we keep him?" Blair asked happily, cuddling deeper into his chest that slowly raised and lowered with his breaths. Buddy appeared around the corner, wiping his hands on a dirty rag. His face was covered with some form of grease that only accentuated the deformity of his face.

"Sorry, he's spoken for. Besides, you couldn't afford to feed him." He said casually. The boy plopped on the ground next to the couch cleaning the edges of his fingers before tossing it over his back. The rag wetly slapped against the wall, sliding down until resting in a heap on top of the dryer. "How did you manage to completely destroy that thing?"

"When you press buttons, lights come on! How could I not try to light all of them up?" Blair wailed, Digging her face deeper into the witch's heaving chest. The witch responded by mumbling something about fluffiness. Buddy shook his head in discontent, but didn't question the matter further; after all the time spent with the witch he must have been used to sub-par reasoning. Leaning casually against the couch, Buddy tapping his knuckles against the witch's side; with no response presented from the witch, Buddy relaxed slightly.

"He's not getting up." Buddy yawned. The witch stirred slightly, his head lolling from one side to the other. As if to emphasis Buddy's point, the witch let out a low snore, blowing some of the hair out of his face. "Well, at least not for twelve hours."

Soul found it odd that Buddy seemed to know the exact amount of time the witch would sleep; exactly how long had the pair been traveling together?

"We should continue our... discussion, while we still have the time and... uh... privacy." Buddy began awkwardly. His smaller eye twitched as he glanced around the room, looking over their merry gang.

"So you're saying that we should completely trust a witch that tried to escape; and in the process, **destroyed** part of Shibusen and almost **killed** us." Maka pointed out, adding as much emphasis on the words 'destroyed' and 'killed' as humanly possible. Buddy stared at her for a moment, seemingly in deep thought.

"Killed?" Buddy repeated, the edges of his mouth quivering as they began to form an uncontrollable smile, a single snort betraying him. He quickly raised his hands to cover his mouth, doing his best to hide his oncoming snickers, but after failing horrible he burst into a round of laughter. "Killed you!?" he managed between fits of laughter. After studying Maka's face for a second, his grin grew even wider. "You're serious? That makes it so much better!"

Buddy gave out, laughing so hard he began to cry. Maka glared daggers at him, testing to see if one really can kill someone with a look. Thankfully, after a minute, he began to wind down.

"Thanks for that, haven't laughed like that in... a long time." Buddy said collectedly, wiping the remaining tears from his eyes. His voice must have been tinged with much more sadness than he wanted to portray, glancing down sheepishly from the rest of them. "Trust me, if he wanted you dead. Really wanted you dead. You'd have been dead a long time ago."

"We are well aware of that. He took his shot, but was merciful. Luckily, Stein was able to-" Maka droned on before being interrupted by Buddy.

"I don't mean today." He said darkly as he plucked nervously at the fringes of their couch. "I mean the minute he stepped into this meister ridden city. He could probably wipe this whole place off the map if he wanted."

With that statement, Blair stopped purring and everyone turned to face the sleeping witch. His scar seemed more pronounced in the fading light, making him look more sinister. Buddy bore holes into the ground with his eyes, his hands fell away from the couch as he stood up suddenly. With an upset look on his face, buddy strolled to the kitchen.

"Please. Forget I said that." He said regretfully, opening the fridge up with a tug. How the hell can we manage that? Soul thought nervously as he stared uneasily at the sleeping witch. In the end, was he really just toying with them after all? His head spun at the possibilities; the mayhem that was the consequence of their previous conflict could've been worse. Not just worse, much worse. Luckily for the witch, being asleep was a good defense mechanism against questioning. With a snort, he coiled his arms tighter around Blair, who let out a happy squeak.

"Either way, that wasn't the point of this conversation in the first place." Buddy desperately said, trying to change the subject as he rifled through the contents of their fridge. "The problem here is the kishins."  
>His desperate attempt actually succeeded. The witch was mostly docile at the moment, whereas the kishins were... less so. Soul pushed himself off of the wall, fixing his posture.<br>"What do you know about them?" He asked carefully, slowly making his way through the verbal minefield. Buddy shook his head as he began to scrawl out notes on a nearby sheet of paper.

"What don't I know at this point?" He asked, presumably rhetorically. He shoved the slip of paper in the groups general direction. "Could you pick these up? I need them if I'm going to cook... really anything."

Buddy frowned at the contents of the fridge in front of him, surely displeased at the lack of quality goods. Tsubaki picked up the slip, happy at the idea of getting Black*Star out of a confined space as soon as possible. Buddy nodded his appreciation as the pair slipped out the door, Black*Star shouting his own praise as they made their way to the market.

"Let's go from the basics, shall we?" Buddy began as he picked out the acceptable items in the fridge. "Kishins eat souls to gain power, over time they become more and more noticeable, until Shibusen deals with them."

"Until recently." Maka finished. It was true, their job board had gone suspiciously quiet over the past week, those that they were able to find were more... trouble than what they expected.

"Like our friend from before. You remember the Huntsman, I assume? He wasn't always like that. At one point it was just a psycho on horseback, and then… that happened. The kishins are gaining power, they're getting smarter. Someone's leading them." Buddy said as he calmly sorted out the contents on the counter.

"Besides the fact that it is impossible to do something like that, who would want to lead the kishins?" Soul laughed, terrified of reliving that kishin nightmare. Maka cleared her throat from her seat, drawing the group's attention.

"Not impossible, Asura was able to do it." She stated, trying to hide the shaking in her own voice.

"Kishins are extremely strong if… trained correctly, to partially answer your second question." Buddy said, hesitating to use the word train. He shivered as a haunting chill ran up his spine, his imagination spinning at the prospect before finishing his explanation. "But it's not a who… it's a what."

* * *

><p>He hated his dreams, nothing ever good ever came out of them.<p>

Although the part he hated the most of them would have to be the 'halls of mirrors'. He thought he deserved a good rest. He had been good! He hadn't even killed anyone, of course he had come close but that didn't count. But, no, hell house is what he gets as a 'reward'. He knew he was screwed the moment he entered the door; after hearing it slam shut, he turned only to be confronted with another mirror. It could've been only minutes or hours or even days since he first entered the room. Not only time was inconsistent in the hell house, distance got wonky as well. He could travel for ages, so long that he could feel the sweat soak into his clothes, only to turn around and find himself mere inches from where he began. He knew the bastard's game, get him into a position of desperation and deal-making. Not a chance. Not with something this important.

"You have me here!" He yelled into the endless cavern of reflections and illusions. "What do you want?"

A sinister echo reverberated off of the walls, growing so loud that it began to resonate with the mirrors, shaking them violently. After a moment, the sound died down, making the him wonder if it was all just another trick. He was about ready to give up with reasoning when he caught a glimpse of movement to his right. In the mirror stood an almost exact copy of himself, but the devil was in the details. The eyes flickered, the pupils nothing more than vertical slits filled with thinly veiled malice and blood-lust. When the witch frowned, every other mirror in the torturous chamber followed suit. Except for the mirror in front of him, that only smiled evilly in turn.

"Miss me?" it asked, its voice more deep and loaded than his own. The reflection flicked hair out of its face, while pressing his free hand against the mirrors edge. The mirror molded around the hand, pushing outward until the liquid glass shattered. The proximity stepped out of the dark hole onto the crunching glass, straightening its jacket while grinning happily at the witch.

"I'll take the silence as a no. what's the matter? Forget about your incompetence?" It said. It reached its hand into thin air, drawing it back with a glowing slip of parchment. It unrolled the scroll, pointing at the base of the worn paper. It held its hand out expectantly. "I could always help you with your... problem."

"No." The witch said, doing his best to control his voice. The proximity's smile faded in an instant, it's face contorted into a forced stoic expression, sending waves of hate at the witch while its hands slowly choked the life out of the inanimate contract. It only knew strength, one wrong move and he could get torn apart. He cleared his throat, uttering his words precisely. "I can do this on my own."

The proximity shook its head, making a grunting a sound before unfolding the crumpled paper.

"It's not that bad! Just gloss over the area that talks about the whole 'relinquish control of the body' part and it's damn near perfect!" It grinned hopefully, as if that would change his mind. The witch shook his head, unmoved by the proximity's prodding. It growled, tossing the paper behind his back. The parchment sparked before erupting into a plumage of reds and yellows, burning momentarily before falling to the ground in a lump of ash.

"You've been using the powers that I've given you, you're slowly accepting this side of you. I'm so proud!" The proximity laughed. It stepping up to the nearest mirror, doing its best to fix the fluttery green hair that refused to stay out of his eyes. "All you need is more of a push. Something to help you realize your true... potential."

The proximity swung its fist, shattering the glass into sparkling dust. When it withdrew its hand, it turned angrily towards the witch. He was totally convinced that the proximity would torture his, kill him, bring him back, and start the demented cycle all over again. Instead, the proximity glanced down at its hand, smiling wickedly.

"Good, it does work properly." It said ominously. The witch felt himself tremble slightly as all the terrible possibilities for 'it' might be. As if reading his thoughts, the proximity held up the hand that had shattered the glass. There wasn't a single sign of injury on it. The witch felt his blood turn to ice as he slowly turned his gaze to his own hand. As if on cue, the back of his hand tore open, dripping blood at a disturbing rate. He struggled against the burning pain, keeping whatever was left of his 'confident composure' alive by staying emotionless.

"You will bow to my will" The demon grinned, "one way or another."

The proximity turned and stormed off with a grunt. Stepping up to the same mirror he escaped from. He did the same liquid glass trick, slipping through to the other side with ease.

"Consider this your warning." It said with a dry smile. Holding up two fingers on his right hand. "A sign of things to come."

with that, it tapped its fingers against the glass, causing it to shatter. The room filled with laughter as all the remaining reflections burst into fits. The laughter grew steadily louder, drowning out the witch's other senses. The room grew dark as he pressed his balled fists against his ears. The laughing grew to a vicious volume, so loud that the mirrors that held them began to crumple. Instead of reacting negatively to their eminent doom, they only laughed louder. Every fiber of his being was telling him to run, to get out of the hell-house that had become his prison. But there was no exit, at least not one he could find easily. The witch knelt on one leg, his closed tight as he tried to think of a plan of escape. His mind went blank as the noise overpowered him, sending him into the black, oppressing void.

* * *

><p>When he woke up, he wasn't in the hell-house. For that matter, he wasn't even in his own body. His eyelids flickered across his eyes as he tried to take in his surroundings. The walls were made up of gray bricks that were sweating with the mid-morning heat. The only indication of time in the room was a hole in the wall that must have constituted a window in what ever time-era he had unknowingly fallen into. Soft sheets billowed in the refreshing breeze that blew through the hole, shifting the sunlight into all manner of shapes and intensity. The flowing light allowed him to better see the room that surrounded him. He was lying on a rough bed covered in goat skin, with a bed-frame comprised of oak wood. The small stand next to him was littered with scraps of paper, a few copper and silver coins, and a burnt out candlestick that seemed surprisingly depressing in the flickers of the morning sun. the bed creaked softly in protest as his body sat up without his consent. That was the biggest peeve he had about this out-of-body experiences; the fact was that he wasn't technically 'out-of-body', he was just in another person's body seeing what they saw. When the he fully righted himself, he brought his hands to his face, desperately trying to wipe away the hazy vision from his eyes. With his hands covering his face, the witch suddenly noticed the strong scent of alcohol on the driver's breathe. With a smile, the witch realized that the person he was piggy-backing had as much of a clue about his surroundings as the witch did. With a groan, the body stood up, leaning against a bed post for support. From an upright position, the witch could see much more of the room. A couple feet away stood a small wardrobe, its wooden exterior dotted with knife marks. The body opened it slowly to find it practically empty, with only a leather belt resting on the floor. The body leaned over to pick it up; too eager in its task, the hungover body lost balancing, sending it head first into the back of the wardrobe. The body cursed as its hands instinctively went to its head, rubbing the tender goose-egg it had acquired in its haste.<p>

A quiet laughing sound was heard on the far end of the room. Granted the term far was quite relative, the room was functional but extremely cramped, with merely a bed, small nightstand, embarrassingly small wardrobe, and (now that it was brought to the witch's attention) a small table with a flimsy chair. The laughing figure was clothed in a flowing robe, one that would cause the common passerby to relate them to a priest or acolyte; however, the scabbard for a wicked looking dagger hung at the figures side on a midnight black cord. The aforementioned blade was wielded in the figures hand as it calmly peeled the apple in its hand.

"wha da yu wan?" the body asked gruffly, its words slurred from some mixture of leftover alcohol and drowsiness. Crouching down, the body reached with their right hand to pick up the belt on the wardrobe floor as the other hand meticulously attempted to nurse the swollen goose egg back into non-existence. The bodies left hand left the aching lump, causing it to wince involuntarily. With both hands free, the body took both ends of the belt, sloppily trying to connect both ends together at its midsection. The figure in the chair laughed once more at witch's driver, clearly amused at the hungover individual's lack of coordination. For a split-second, the witch recognized the laugh, he had heard the same laugh before but couldn't place the owner. The body stuck its tongue out childishly as it finally managed to buckle the leather belt into place. The body's face gained a small smile at its finally defeat of the notorious buckle. The witch finally noticed that the belt contained two daggers, strapped to the belt on either of his hips. The body reached down, flipping a dagger from its scabbard with practiced finesse. With a flick of the wrist, the dagger darted through the air. The stranger in the chair barely managed to let out a shocked gasped as the dagger sunk halfway into backrest of the chair he sat on. The stranger examined the still quivering dagger, chuckling at the near homicidal outburst.

"Your form has improved, just not you're temper." the figure said remorsefully, rising from the chair. As he stood, a light breeze ruffled the delicate curtains of the room, casting the somewhat stable light into a miniature frenzy. The light bounced everywhere as the linens attempted to settle into an agreeable mess. From his seat inside the body, the witch's blood froze in place as the light came to a rest on the stranger's face, illuminating a terrifying image.

In the altered daylight, the familiar face sent a shockwave of emotion up the witch's spine. In front of him stood none other than the demonic unchanging-child of his nightmares, Daren. The slender figure cheerfully raised the hand holding the apple. With a gentle toss, the apple floated through the air, gingerly landing in the body's upturned hand. The body's face gave way to a small smile as it lifted the apple to its mouth. The witch began to scream out, regardless of the knowledge it would do nothing. The apple gave way in a hearty squelch as the body ripped a large chunk off between its teeth.

"How did it go?" Daren asked, facing the window. The body bite off another section of apple happily before answering in broken english, the hindrance thanks to the assistance of the lingering alcoholic influence.

"Great job on the information, caravan 'idn't know what was 'appening until I pilfered over 'alf of their goods!" the body replied, its voice much less gruff than before. The body turned and closed the doors, sealing the wardrobe carefully before leaning its weight on it. "Just need to lie low o' the guards for awhile."

Daren nodded, the smile on his face was innocent and empty of any signs of sarcasm or danger. The witch immediately knew something was wrong. Daren never did anything unless it benefited him in some way, there was some trick going on here that was going to make itself visible in a very unfriendly way. As if the thought triggered it, Daren turned to the body.

"Have you reconsidered my offer yet?" He asked, the question was innocent enough but the way he said it made it sound like everything depended on what the intoxicated thief said next. The aforementioned thief turned away as if contemplating the question, taking another hearty bite out of the apple.

"I 'on't think so, sorry 'ut I work alone." He replied, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck. There was an audible sigh from the devilish boy behind him, surprisingly one of regret and not frustration.

"That's really too bad, I was actually willing to give you a way out of this." Daren said, his words drawing the thief's attention. He turned around to see a truly horrifying sight.

Daren's face sparked into a grin, a dangerous, evil grin which the witch unhappily translated into an unspoken 'you're about to regret everything'. There was a tumult coming from what must have been a tavern one floor beneath them. There was a vivid and... imaginative exchange of words, but one word that made the cheery mood of the room dissolve into unabridged terror was 'authorities'. Daren skillfully hopped up, perching himself on the base of the makeshift window.

"Took them long enough." The devilish child chided to noone. The body tried to grasp at the remaining dagger at his side, but his arms didn't respond quite as deftly as they had moments ago. Daren turned back at the body as a constriction in its neck brought it to its knees.

"Enjoy your apple?" It asked jokingly. The body's face turned into a malice-filled glare, directing its unebbing tidal waves of hate at the child. Daren rolled his eyes at the hate, treating it as if he dealt with it on a regular basis... then again, with it being Daren, he probably did. With a seemingly goodhearted 'have fun', the small boy leapt from the windowsill, falling out of sight as the door to the room began to rumble as if significant pressure was being applied to the opposite side. The body chocked, its breathing became labored and painful as it began to slide down the side of the wardrobe. With a frightful grunt, the body collapsed to the ground. Its limbs began to twitch violently as the poison rushed through its veins. With one final heave, the door burst into splinters, a company of armed soldiers rushed into the room, almost disappointed that their only confrontation was a crippled, poisoned thief. The vision went black as the witch's spirit was thrown from the fragile body. With a start, the with realized that the chocking hadn't ended, he was still desperately trying to breath even though he was free of the poisoned body. I'm getting really tired of dying in my dreams, the witch thought in the back of his mind while the rest of his air deprived brain tried to mentally shake himself out of the nightmare. Just as he began to lose what little life he had left, the witch was thrown back into reality, finding the perpetrators that had tried to strangle him in his sleep.

Two large, fleshy mounds formed warmly around his face, stifling what little air was able to make it to his mouth and nostrils. The witch quickly realized that the body his spirit was now attached to was under his own control and heaved the would be killers off of him. When he regained his composure along with some deep-breaths for good measure. The witch found himself glaring at a fully nude, purple haired woman. Except he wasn't, something seemed off about the woman. When it finally clicked, the witch smiled playfully at the 'woman's' questioning look.

"Hey there Blair. Could you try not to kill me in my sleep?" He asked baring his teeth menacingly. The cat-woman's eyes shot up in surprise for a brief moment before lowering themselves, along with here eyelids, a sly look spread on her face.

"Oh, that's the first time someone's guessed it so fast. Would you like a prize?" She said seductively with hooded eyes. She jiggled her chest for good measure, giggling happily at the witch's subsequent blushing. With too many things stewing in his head, the witch decided the last thing he needed at the moment was more confusion-of any sort- and stifled a grin as a crafty idea sprang into his head. With Blair's back to the kitchen, the witch discreetly snapped his fingers, casting a spell he learned very young. After a moment, the cabinet doors began to open and close erratically, omitting gruff barking and growling sounds. Blair shot forward like a cannonball from pure terror, colliding with the witch in the process. She whimpered quietly, burying her face in the witch's shirt. After a moment of shivering, she risked a look at the unseen barkers, only to be confronted with an ordinary looking kitchen. She gazed back at the witch, surprisingly bearing an amused looked instead of the expected irritated or angry look.

"Cheeky boy." She purred, her face still uncomfortable close to his chest. After a moment, she leaned in, pressing her still blatantly nude body against his. Laughing at the witch's flush that returned with urgency. Her face rested carefully on his chest as she listened to his ever quickening heartbeat. She turned her face to him again, her eyes once again hooded.

"Would you like me to make something else throb?" She asked, the sensual tone of her voice turning his face's color from pink to napalm red. Her hands that were previously placed on either side of her face began to slowly slip down his body, leaving a river of goosebumps behind them. The witch sat mouth a gap on the floor, dazed in a mix of denial and perverse curiosity. Her hands crept ever lower, finally passing from his chest to his abdomen and it seemed they had no intention of stopping. Blair's eyes following them as they traveled, causing her to lean back and show more of... herself. The with numbly thought that he should stop her, but he simply couldn't. It was like watching a sexy train crash. The witch gulped, unsure of what to do, not quite sure of his upstairs brain was even functioning anymore. Blair gazed up at the cornered witch, her eyes sparkling in the early morning light peeking in through the windows. She bit her lip as she gazed back, her hands unaffected in their quest. The witch inhaled shakily through his nose as the hands began to near the edge of his pants. Without warning, there was a clatter down the hall as a voice echoed through the apartment, causing the mutually distracted pair to look up.

"SON OF A BITCH!" he heard Great White shout groggily. Broken from his spell he glanced back down at the sensual cat girl whose hands hovered just above a very sensitive area, her lips pursed and her eyes filled with murderous intent. With a snap of her fingers, the area around her burst into a purple cloud. The witch sat slightly dazed as Blair scooted slightly back from him, magically dressed in a skimpy purple outfit as she glared at the noise. She sat with both legs sprawled outwards, bent at the knee, defiantly giving the witch something to peep at even as footsteps resounding from the neighboring room.

The scythe stomped into the living room, glaring at Blair surprisingly.

"What was that earlier?" He asked angrily, nodding his head at the cabinets, some still hanging slightly ajar. The witch was about to own up to his actions when Blair cut him off.

"Just having some fun with the new toy you brought me." She said innocently enough gesturing at the witch who sat with his head still spinning from the rapid succession of events. She turned her head back to him, winking playfully. Whitey pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, apparently seething at Blair.

"It's 6 in the damn morning." He groaned out through gritted teeth. Blair tilted her head as if the statement of time added nothing to his argument. With a sigh, the boy dropped his hand and shook his head, surrendering the impossible discussion. He looked wearily at the witch who sat with his legs sprawled out in front of him.

"Looks like you're up." He noticed, his sleepiness slipping back into his voice. Adding thoughtfully after a moment, "Need anything?"

"Uh..." The witch started, his voice immediately cracking. He mentally slapped himself for the awkward start but recovered quickly, "Maybe a shower?"

The white haired scythe nodded, as the witch thought internally, arctic temperatures would be preferred.

* * *

><p>While the witch was in the shower, everyone arrived at the apartment. Half out of interest about their next move, half because of the smell of Buddy's cooking. The had only barely began to start discussing what to do next when the tell-tale sign of a door creaking open brought their attention to a drooling boy. The witch didn't spare any time digging into the buffet of food that Buddy had laid out before him on the table. The minute he stepped from the steaming bathroom with a towel on his mop of sopping wet hair. The witch managed to grunt out a form of thanks between desperate breathes when he didn't have food in his mouth. Buddy took the thanks happily, giving the others permission to have some if they wanted. Pretty soon, everyone was digging into the food. Buddy was a bloody master chef, and didn't bother to hide it. After the table had been cleared to the last scrap, the witch sat back in his chair, totally content.<p>

"This is the life." He breathed wistfully, closing his eyes as he propped his legs up onto the table. Maka resisted the urge to bash his skull in for treating the furniture poorly, instead she simply swept the chair out from underneath him. The witch lay on the ground, not bothered slightly in the abuse. He opened one eye to look up at her slyly, a small smirk playing on his face.

"Bad move on your part. From this angle, I can see right up your skirt." He said innocently. He barely managed to roll out of the before a boot slammed down where his head used to be. He chuckled as he bounced to his feet, looking straight at the now steaming Maka.  
>"Let's go." She said, her tone dangerously even. The witch was taken off guard by the sudden statement.<p>

"Why? It's really nice here!" he said, lazily shuffling to the couch before flopping face down on the billowy cushions. He hardly had a moment to wriggle into a comfortable position before being dragged off of it by Maka. He whined childishly as he glanced up at her, taking care not to look up her skirt again.

"Because we said so. Besides, the last thing I need is more opportunities for you to wreck it." Maka managed to hiss, as she began to drag him to the door. The witch didn't struggle as he was brought over the threshold, only crossing his arms and pouting. Once he realized he wasn't going to get his way, he easily slipped from Maka's grasp. The witch Casually dusted himself off as he took the stairs two at a time. Buddy followed the group without question as they made their way to the DWMA, only stopping to help drag the witch away from any distractions he managed to find. After some struggling and occasional deal-making on Buddy's part, they managed to get to the footsteps of the massive institution. The entire group began the journey up the stairs, except for one.

The witch stood petrified at the bottom of the steps, his whole body shivering slightly. Maka's coldness melted partial at the sight of the terrified witch.

"It's safe. No more prisoner routine. No one is going to hurt you here." She assured him, gesturing for him to follow them up the stone slabs. The witch nodded appreciatively at the reassurance, some of the tension in him visibly melted away as he began to make his way up. With each step, his fear melted away evermore until he stood at the top of the stairs with the rest of the group. Maka nodded silent congratulations to the witch as she wondered what they would do with him now that they were actually there. After a moment of pondering she decided the best course of action would be the Dojo, maybe they could work out some of the witch's all too apparent excess energy. Another wrong move as it would prove.

Nygus nodded professionally at the group as they entered, her stance casually if not somewhat reserved, until she saw the witch. In an instant, her stance tensed into a coiled spring, ready to pounce if the need arose. Maka looked back to see the witch digging his finger in-between some teeth, trying to wedge food out.

Terrifying, she thought to herself sarcastically, while at the same time making a mental note to observe him more carefully; just because he was complacent now did not guarantee his peacefulness in the future. The witch perked up, suddenly realizing that he was the center of attention. His Cheshire grin came back with vigor as his eyes scanned the wary meisters with a dangerously predator-like gleam. He lifted his arms, swaggering back and forth like a gladiator.

"Who wants some!?" he shouted at the group, Maka pinched the bridge of her nose while simultaneously smiling. She quickly brushed the smile away, the last thing the world need was two Black*Stars. With a start, she realized that the joking taunt would sound like a massive gauntlet being thrown down to the quirky ninja. She turned in time to see Black*Star vanish in a blur that was on a collision course for the oblivious witch.

Seemingly oblivious, but in practice, the witch had a complete awareness of his surroundings. With the timing of a master, the witch ducked down while his right arm extended swiftly. Black*Stars fist cleared the witch's temple with merely half a centimeter of clearance as the witch's hand clamped down on his throat with a vice-like grip. As Black*Star's brain fired into overdrive, automatically sending his foot out in a kick, the witch spun, kicking out Black*Star's legs from underneath him. Maka winced as Black*Star's body plowed in the ground with enough force to knock the breath out of an elephant. The witch mockingly placed a foot on his chest, a mistake he regretted immediately when he was flung straight into a wall. Black*Star got up, stretching his arms as he rose.

"Lucky shot, but it won't happen again." He said, his cocky demeanor ever-present. The witch peeled himself from the wall, green sparks quickly rearranged the plaster and broken picture that had once hung there until no sign of fracture remained.  
>"Wanna bet?" He asked, his grin undisturbed about having nearly eaten drywall.<p>

"Not, in my dojo. Magic fixing or not, I don't want it torn to the ground." Nygus said stepping in-between the two riled boys. The witch peeked around the teacher, Black*Star quickly mimicked the move.

"Courtyard?" The witch asked innocently. Black*Star's eyes set with determination at the challenge.

"I'll get you back for putting me in that void." He agreed happily. Nygus shook her head at the exchange of words. It was going to be a long day.

By the time they had everything set up in the courtyard, word had spread and a crowd of people were waiting anxiously for the fight. Black*Star was hyped at the idea of beating the witch senseless in front of a crowd, while the witch stood motionless and calculating on the far side of the courtyard. Black*Star's intuition kicked in and he became deadly serious, his mind running through the ways to deal with a witch.

"I enjoy a challenge." The witch started as he began to pace back and forth on his end of the courtyard, trying to view Black*Star from as many angles as possible, "I won't use a drop of magic in this fight."

Black*Star grinned, he was the one that usually displayed cockiness but the witch had managed to get an early lead, and that was the only lead Black*Star was willing to allow. Black*Star's hand curled tighter on his blade as he prepared for the witch's first move. Nygus nodded and the battle officially started, without hesitation the witch dashed forward, an all or nothing strategy. Black*Star tensed his legs as the witch closed in, counting down the distance. 5 meters, 4 meters, 3, 2, 1, half a meter. without a moment to spare, Black*Star sprang into the air at full speed, narrowly missing the plow that would've easily knocked him back another 5 meters. He swung his arm to strike at the small of the witch's back, an area that should've been completely unguarded due to the witch's inertia. he was stunned momentarily when he felt something coil around his leg, all four limbs were in view and he couldn't think of anything else the witch could do without magic. The shock drew his attention long enough for him to completely miss his opportunity at striking. The witch spun dangerously on one foot, letting Black*Star view the end of a long scaly tail that emerged from the base of his coat. He only had a moment to register the information before being forcefully slammed into the ground. Black*Star wriggled free of the tail long enough to dart to a safe distance, his resolve bruised but unbroken.

"I thought you said no magic!" He goaded as he tried to reformulate maneuvers and plans on the fly. The witch shook his head with dreadfully playful smile on his face as he threw off his cloak in Buddy's general direction.

"Not magic. Quite the opposite, actually." He said calmly as he swaggered forward, his tail now clearly visible. "I usually have my... bonus appendages hidden from sight _with_ magic. In a way, I actually told you I was going to do this."

While the witch ranted, Black*Star examined the new element. It stood at more than half his height and curled and writhed in a mixture of playfulness and anxiety. the scales glistened in the sunlight like tiny gems, reflecting light in a splash of color. the mesmerizing effect didn't phase Black*Star as he quickly summed up the new development. the tail had a larger reach than any of his appendages, his best bet would be to keep his distance, take a couple pot shots at him, then dash in when his guard was down. His next few steps had just begun to be planned out when the witch broke through the invisible line that Black*Star had constructed with his mind, signaling the vital need for a change of location. Black*Star feinted forward, intending to draw back immediately when it occurred to him that the witch had said 'appendages'. plural. He was struck by another surprise. literally.

The pink flesh appeared for half-a-second, completing its task quickly and efficiently. A tongue. the witch's tongue was long, much too long to be considered even remotely human, but far more dangerous. The forked tongue made contact with Black*Star's head like a heavyweight champion. Black*Star recoiled in pain as his forehead began to throb from the blow. Black*Star was able to look up in time to see a right hook closing distance rapidly, he ducked under and tried to sprint away only to be caught by the ridiculously muscled tail. Instead of turning to face his captured prey, the witch continued his turn, letting his tail bring the target around the other direction. with the extra momentum, the fist made contact with staggering power. Black*Star didn't have a chance to call out in pain as he was flung backwards, the tail that had once entangled him was nowhere to be seen, therefore didn't hinder his arc into the air. he fell to the ground with an ungraceful thump, his senses only barely returning.

"Who's the lizard man!" He heard the witch shouting. He sat up groggily, thoroughly pissed at the antics. he had a few tricks up his sleeve, but then again, so did Black*Star. He stood up soundlessly, as he made his way towards the joyous reptile. he pushed forward, urging his legs to their full speed as he brought his hands up for a strike. The witch's head tilted slightly as he noticed the movement far too late. The electric pulse passed through the witch's body like a hot knife through butter, effectively shutting him up. the witch murmured to himself as he sat up, as if in a trance. he grinned up at the ninja unexpectedly.

"Glad you weren't down for the count, hate it when fights are too easy." the witch said, as he hopped to his feet. the tongue in his mouth unraveled slightly, peeking out between the boys pointed incisors and wiggled in the air, beckoning Black*Star to fight. Black*Star was happy too, not many people actually asked him for more punishment.

The two pirouetted around the battlefield, exchanging blow for blow. Black*Star found that the most effective location to discharge the blast was on the witch's unguarded tongue whenever it was bold enough to lash out and the witch soon learned the best way to provoke the pint-size ninja was to critique his fighting style.

"You call that a kick? pathetic!" he said, hoping back as a vertical kick sliced through the air next to his head. "I've seen old ladies move faster than your sorry ass!"

Black*Star took that as a personal challenge, turning his increasing frustration into energy to help beat the insolent worm's head in. one misstep was all one of them needed to end the battle, and the witch granted it regretfully. something shattered his concentration for a moment, just a moment, but that was all Black*Star needed. He swooped in taking away the witch's footing and striking his chest with the palm of his hand. The witch grunted as he flew through the air, coming to a stop only when he broke the cobblestone beneath him. The witch disregarded the pain, much to Black*Star's disappointment. The witch tilted his head back and sniffed at the air, his eyes wide as if in a panic. Black*Star wondered for a moment if he had knocked the boy's brain loose, his suspicions were disproven when the boy shook off the spell, slowly rising to his feet. He grinned at the blue-haired boy, his back arched slightly as he tried to catch his breath.

"Nice hit." The witch wheezed, trying to force air into his pained lungs. Black*Star only nodded and grunted at the statement, he obviously knew it was a good hit, he had delivered it after all, but it never hurt to be reminded of one's own greatness. he patted the opponent on the back, it was good to find a sparring partner that was as agile as him. The crowd that had gathered around cheered as Nygus held up Black*Star's hand, signaling his victory. The witch clapped admirably, accepting his loss with grace.

Kid and Maka studied the witch with stone faces, not revealing a hint of emotion. The scales and tongue reminded everyone too much of a certain serpent-y witch for them to be truly comfortable, but at least the witch seemed decent about keeping his word. Everything is beginning to look up, Maka thought, even when everything feels like it's falling apart, at least there are some things that remain constant.

Black*Star's ego, Kid's insanity, Soul's and Black*Star's nearly insatiable hunger, and everything crumbling to pieces just when things begin to look up.

"What is going on here!?" Maka heard a familiar voice cry out from the edge of the courtyard. she turned in time to see Kim push her way through the group. Maka held herself back from delivering a friendly greeting, the look on Kim's face said enough words for the both of them. But it wasn't her that the face was directed at.

The witch, the new witch, stood in the middle of the group of students, dazed by the stomach-churning turn of events. Kim gestured to her partner and Jackie quickly materialized in her hand, ready to ignite the boy at any second. In response, the witch conjured two massive fireballs, one in each hand, and assumed a defensive stance, ready to move at any moment. Kim took another step forward, a fire in her eyes as she screamed.

"You should be dead!"

* * *

><p>so... yeah...<p>

I'm not that great at motivating myself and the (honestly) indefensibly long-ass time it took me to finish this kind of proves that.

But in my defense... hot cat-girl. Pretty sure that evens it out.

(BTW, laptops quasi-working now, meaning i'll probably get off my lazy ass and write more! yeah!)


	12. A Stab in the Back

Things went from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. The witch reeled back in surprise, his stance and fireballs dissipating in an instant. He peered dumbly at the girl shouting at him in stunned silence, his normally wicked grin gone only replaced by an awkwardly forced smile.

"Heyyyyyyy." He said, backing up a little from the upset girl. "Long time, no see!"

Kim responded by shooting out a bolt of fire, clearly not in a gaming mood. The witch rolled away quickly, hopping to his feet and holding his hands up in surrender. He looked helplessly at the rest of the group as Kim continued to rage.

"I saw you die, you bastard!" she screamed, shooting another burst of fire in his direction. Instead of dodging, the witch held out a hand and halted the flames, causing a sheet of sparks to splay out around him. The witch calmly shrugged it off.

"I got better." He said innocently, trying to resume his normal snarky character. Kim was not having any of it. the witch was able to duck as another flame shot at him, doing his best to avoid violent confrontation no matter how hard Kim made it for him. with one smooth motion, the witch ducked under another blast and brought himself to a standing position barely a foot away, reaching out he took both her wrists in his hands. Kim resisted but was unable to break free from his iron-clad grip.

"Listen, I'm not going to hurt anyo-" was all the witch managed to say before taking a knee blow directly to the crotch. He crumpled into a heap, wheezing for air as Kim stood above him, now with a definite upper-hand.

"I've heard that before from your kind!" She spat, pushing him over with a foot. the groaning witch reached up to protect himself too late and found himself staring up at a flaming lamp with a foot pressing his neck to the ground.

"Just listen to me for a second!" he pleaded, trying to get through to her. Kim shook her head, her eyes filled with a fiery rage.

"I'll do the job myself this time, you son-of-a-bitch!" She shouted. Things happened fast. In a split-second, the witch's eyes went from pleading boy to hardened fighter, burning with a deadly passion. His hand reached up swiftly, gripping the girl's heel while it kept its motion, dragging the foot that kept him to the ground away from his neck. Kim reacted fast, but clearly not fast enough for the witch. he popped up with astounding speed at Kim, swinging his body around the blast of fire that ignited the patch of ground behind him. His hands were blurs as they quickly disabled and cut-off the girl's possible retaliations. his first priority was the lantern, his hand quickly gripped her forearm and twisted violently, sending the weapon out of the girls hand as she gasped from both surprise and momentary pain. His free hand dropped to his side and blocked her reactionary kick, taking it in stride as his arm coiled around the unprotected appendage, with the back of her knee making contact with the bend in his arm. he released her wrist as he twirled around, his speed inhuman as he positioned himself behind the confused girl. the hand that had held onto her wrist was now putting to use its iron-grip on the back of her neck. slamming the meister forward, the two made contact with a sickening thud that knocked the air out of Kim's lungs. She lay on the ground, under the witch's pressure, gasping like a fish out of water.

"Just shut up and listen, idiot!" He howled as he held her face to the pavement. she squirmed spitefully with her arms pinned under her own body, though it was no use. "I have no intention of being a problem, I can leave if you want. But first, just hear me out."

"He's right." Maka said, sure of herself as she separated herself from the group. The witch looked up hopefully, loosening his grip on the restrained meister. The girl slowly stood up, holding her hand against her chest.

"You're paying for my dry-cleaning." She breathed at the witch, still doing her best to take deep breaths. She looked to Maka expectantly.

"For what's coming, we're going to need all the help that we can get." Maka said, doing her best to sound confident even though it still disturbed her. If Buddy was right, Death City was in major danger. the fact that it was occurring so near to the end of their last struggle made the matter ever more pressing. The witch nodded along, happy to have some form of back-up in the situation, until he fully comprehended her words.

"Wait. How do you know tha-" He asked inquisitively, as he risked a glance at Maka. Suddenly, the pieces fit together for him, his anger boiling back to the surface.

"BUDDY!"

Buddy peeked out from behind a pair of large meisters, his hiding place quickly found by the fuming witch. Suddenly unconcerned with the situation, the witch marched up to the two massive meisters, plowing them out of his way with ease as he advanced on the terrified homunculus.

"What did you do?" He asked, his voice dangerously even. Buddy stood his ground as the witch stopped inches away from him.

"What I had to. If you had it your way, they wouldn't know until it was too late!" He said back passionately, trying to defend himself. The witch shook his head in disbelief.

"What's my one rule?" He said, his voice shaking and raising at the same time. Buddy glanced away sheepishly, trying to find a place to hide. "What is my one rule, Buddy!"

"Don't tell anyone." Buddy squeaked, shrinking away from the furious witch.

"Do you know why?" the witch asked, his voice once again taking on a dangerously even tone.

"For their own good." Buddy said quietly.

"That's right. For their own good, you've seen what happens when that secret doesn't stay secret." The witch said, making Buddy visibly wince at the thought. Buddy nodded, but his resolve returned slightly.

"There are more this time, skilled even! If we just tried..." Buddy said, his words dying in his throat as he saw the look on the witch's face.

"With what time? With what army? Them?" He asked, actually laughing at the last question. "Their skilled, but there are not near enough to handle... it."

Buddy's head dropped in defeat, surrendering his argument. The witch's brain churned with an idea - any idea- that could help. he was aware of the fact he was being stared at but that was not of importance, they could worry later. There was really only one chance of undoing the harm they caused, it was unlikely to work but it was better than nothing. he made up his mind, it wasn't going to be smooth or easy, in fact his plan included quite the opposite. With a regretful sigh, the witch snapped his fingers, causing explosions to rattle the courtyard as smoke coiled into the air. The surprised meisters coughed and gasped, both at the smoke clogging their lungs and the witch's actions. when the sulfuric cloud finally dissipated, the witch and Buddy were gone. Kim snarled angrily, completely out of her usual character.

"Figures." She finally said, the bitterness in her voice was total and unforgiving. Maka shook her head, the witch was either completely bipolar, completely insane, or both. She had been sure that they had made some progress with the witch; after what Buddy had said, she had hoped that they could've recruited him. now, all they had was a vague concept of what was to come, and no idea how to with it.

* * *

><p>Buddy wasn't happy, but that was to be expected.<p>

"Two times!" He continued his rant, "Two time in one week you knock me out to get out of a place that could actually protect us!"

The witch shook his head as he scoffed at the notion, like he could ever find any sort of long term safety. no, it has always been better to rest for a moment then leave, never anything more. doing so would mean interacting with people and interacting with people lead to... connections. loose ends. he berated himself mentally as he continued to trudge through the ever-shifting landscape of sand and stone. never connections, never acquaintances, never friends, only loose ends that were bound to get tied, one way or another.

"Leave it, Buddy!" He called back as he continued up the slope, shouldering his own bag. luckily, he had remembered to take it with him when he snatched up Buddy. He had been lucky... kind of. He had been able to make it out of the city, not only alive, but without any real injury. He silently hoped that that was an omen of good things to come, or at least not terrible things.

The city was not in sight anymore, a small relief. with it somewhat remote, the likelihood of either of them turning around and running back was cut significantly. Buddy fumed on, not deterred by the witch's very apparent unhappiness.

"They have no idea what they're up against!" He called up, his footing failing for a moment, causing him to shudder to a stop and kneel for a moment. The witch turned around and offered him a hand that Buddy took begrudgingly.

"To be fair, we don't know what we're up against." He said softly, shocking Buddy with the honest transparency. The witch quickly threw on his shell, even Buddy had to be kept at some distance, for his own good. "Now forget it, we need to keep moving."

against his own command, he vaguely wondered what was happening back in the city, but shook it off quickly.

Just another place you cannot return, a place of unfinished business and regret. He thought unhappily as he continued his slow march away from a place now much too far away, both physically and emotionally.

* * *

><p>Soul offered Maka a mug of coffee while they sat in their apartment, waiting for Kim to contribute the information they knew about the witch. Maka couldn't ignore the fact that they sat in the same spots they did that morning (minus Tsubaki and Black*Star, who had hung back to clean up), when they still thought they understood at least a little bit about the witch. Kim took a shuddering breath, still partially shaken up by the afternoons events. She gratefully accepted the other mug from soul who returned to his place at Maka's side. Maka sipped at her drink in thought, she had already mulled over some ideas with Kid, trying to guess at the reasons for the witch's extended stay. They mostly discussed to topics were why the witch had stayed around so long and why they had given him so much leeway? Kim had helped them with the second question, explaining that the witch was able to influence thoughts, at least partially, and must have been actively doing so to keep them complacent about his presence. The first question remained though, what was his purpose for staying? They were hoping that by learning more about him, they could make a better guess at the reason being his actions.<p>

Kim continued to sit awkwardly, staring into her coffee as she contemplated her options. Maka knew the look on her face, it was a universal look that always pointed to significant decisions. Pushing her wouldn't give them any worthwhile information, and it could most likely ruin their friendship, so they continued to sit in silence.

"I'm not really supposed to tell you most of what I'm about to." Kim said quietly as she stared into her coffee. she took a tentative sip, sighing after swallowing the comforting, warm liquid. "He's dangerous, but I'm sure you've already figure that out."

She set the cup down on the table. with a audible exhale of breath, she clasped her hands together, peering over the locked digits at her drink.

"He's a criminal, at least he is in the witch realm, though i can't tell you much on his activities here." She continued, her awkwardness slowly fading away. "I can't tell you why he's a criminal in the witch realm, that is confidential. I can tell you that he can't be trusted, everything he says is part of a game, everything he does has an angle meant to benefit him. Too really know what he's up to, you're going to have to tell me what he told you, what he did, anything, everything, even the most trivial thing can be significant."

It took a couple hours, but by the end of the talk they had managed to recount the entirety of the past week. Kim shook her head in distaste at parts.

"Immature as always." She said finally, shaking her head. "But two of them? this is too much."

"Two? does this have anything to do with 'his kind'? what exactly is he?" Maka asked, worried about both the witch and Daren, for completely separate reasons. Kim shook her head as she toyed with the frays of a pillow.

"I can't tell you that, like I said it's confidential. Besides, you don't want to open that can of worms in the first place."

Soul rested his head against the wall, pissed that the witch had been able to manipulate them like that. He thought about their options at that point. They could chase down the witch, but to what end? They couldn't force him to help and what they were told might not even be accurate or possible in anyway at all. They could sit back and prepare, but that lead back to the same question of whether or not Buddy had been telling the truth about that. He groaned in frustration, the last thing that he wanted to do at the moment was sit around and discuss the fugitive while dancing around 'confidentiality', the sun was dipping lower in the sky and if they intended to go after the witch, it was now or never.

"Chase him? Stay? what do you think?" He asked Kim gruffly, hoping she had at least some insight on how to handle the situation. Kim stared out the window in contemplation before turning back to him.

"No point, he's a pro at vanishing into thin air, we wouldn't be able to find him, even if we had full daylight and if we were prepared for this in the first place." She said, her annoyance at the situation peeking through her calm mask. Soul nodded unhappily, if anything were to happen, they would need to prepare.

Maka was the first to bring notice to the matter, she had called a school-wide meeting before they had left with Kim. It was supposed to begin in a couple hours, maybe enough time for more of the upper-level meisters and weapons to grasp the possible danger of the situation. If it existed at least.

Even if no real threat existed, it couldn't hurt to get the students into the mindset of teamwork.

* * *

><p>"Oh my god." The witch breathed under his breath, peeking out with Buddy over the sand dune at the shifting black mass. "How did they know so fast? How did they get here so quickly?"<p>

Buddy was visibly shaking and the witch's voice countered the sentiment. it was a damn army, definitely not what they had been expecting.

"Didn't work." The witch whimpered, disappointed that his removal from the city had not altered the direction of the horde. "Stay low, if we're lucky we might be able to sneak around."

Buddy looked up for the first time since they spotted the army. His face shrouded in a mask of anger and confusion.

"You mean we'll just leave? What about all the people back in the city?" Buddy hissed at him, his arm sweeping vaguely in the direction of the city.

"Look at them Buddy! Just look! What difference could we possibly make?" He hissed back, his body giving into the primal sense of fear as he began to quiver.

"Enough!" Buddy replied, his voice growing louder, regardless of the festering swarm so close to them. "How can we sit back when there's a chance we can help?"

The witch slammed his head into the sand in front of him, trying to think of a way to reason around Buddy's irrepressible need to help others. Their safety didn't really mean anything apparently, and in reality he knew they could make a huge difference. A small part of him encouraged him to go with Buddy, to stop this threat and earn himself some breathing room, but the majority of him screamed to run at the top of their imaginary lungs.

"Don't throw your life away Buddy. Run away, survive, we aren't responsible for everyone." The witch rationalized, mostly for Buddy but partially for himself. If they were lucky, they could slip around the horde and get out with their lives, probably.

"And then what? Keep running, Keep hiding, Keep getting left behind because you want to 'protect me' too? what the hell did they do to you to make you so damn scared?" Buddy snapped, peeling himself away from the vantage point to make his way down the dune. The witch hurriedly got up as well, tripping as he tried to keep pace with the determined homunculus.

"You know damn well why!" The witch seethed as he glanced back at the peak, paranoid that one of the monstrous shadows had managed to get to their position already.

"Yes, I did manage to find out how they got to you. Through your old acquaintances and forgotten contacts, most of whom, by the way, think you're dead. Let me guess, it was 'for their own good' or is it 'to protect them' this time?" Buddy said calmly, no longer in fear of the witch's rage. The witch began to panic, this time Buddy was going to get himself killed, and no matter how he pleaded, he wouldn't listen.

"You don't understand! No one from back then understands what that situation really was!" He said, stumbling through shifting stand to keep up with Buddy's feverish pace.

"I think everyone understands enough." Buddy said coldly, shaking his head at the witch's obvious pleas, "You let someone in, you let them get close to you, and then you got hurt. So what? Just because you got hurt once you can't let anyone else in anymore, you have to resort to isolating yourself?"

Buddy had any time to react as the witch spun him around, slamming his body violently to the ground. Buddy was ready to see a fierce, aggressive witch, preparing himself to strike back. He wasn't ready for what he actually saw.

A scared, shaking boy was all that met his eyes, his arms weakly pinning his to the ground. His eyes were watery, threatening to spill actual tears for the first time since Buddy met him.

"No one understands! I never told them!" He gasped through his shuddering breaths, "They didn't hurt them, Buddy! They Killed them! Slaughtered them! They made me watch as they ripped them apart!"

By now tears were openly streaming down his face, his voice now quiet and shaking violently.

"Almost everyone I ever cared about, almost everyone that cared about me. They killed them, slowly and painfully, just to get to me. I can't... I..."

The witch peeled himself off of a shocked Buddy. The witch pressed his palms to his temples, trying to keep the images from rushing back, but to no avail. He tripped backward, the jolt of contact with the ground shaking him from what little control he had left yet. Images flooded his mind, some he didn't fully comprehend, some he was able to comprehend enough to regret ever seeing it in the first place. He must've been in his trance for some time, when he finally managed to fight his way back to sanity, tooth and nail, he found his tears had dried and Buddy standing over him in quiet contemplation.

"I can't lose you too." He said quietly, more for himself than Buddy. Buddy nodded, doing his best to understand the witch's sudden outburst of emotion.

"We can figure everything out later," Buddy said quietly, resting his hand on the witch's shoulder reassuringly as he turned to gaze toward the direction they had ventured from, "But for now."

The witch understood where it was going, his logic and reason had failed him, veiled by his own fears and terror. Buddy seemed more in control of himself, not much of a feat at the moment but the witch was willing to acknowledge it.

"They'll do the exact same thing to that city." Buddy nudged carefully, "Families and Friends, countless lives are there, under the impression of safety."

The witch nodded, barely half aware of his surroundings. He stood up shakily, struggling to stay on his feet. He physically shook himself to get out the last of the residual sadness and loathing, trying to piece himself back together.

"We'll be heroes if we pull this off." Buddy managed to say as he turned to run back to the city. The witch shook his head, a hint of distaste at his closest friend's enthusiasm over walking into a bloodbath. His head stubbornly shifted to look at his getaway route one last time; cursing below his breath, he turned and started following Buddy back to the city, pouring on the steam as he bounded over rocks and small dunes.

"If they let us live long enough to help." He whispered as he ran away from the setting sun.

* * *

><p>Maka waited patiently while the senior meisters explained the situation as delicately as possible. Maka was mostly there, to her dismay, was only there to make sure what they were saying was accurate. The meeting had been going on for some time, mostly introductions for the newest recruits, but the sun had set and the only thing lighting the room was the series of candles, casting ominous shadows in the corners of the room. Nearly all the students had managed to make it to the meeting, with the few exceptions of those away on business or chronic skippers that didn't understand the gravity of the situation. Those that were there listened intently to some of the senior fighters, hanging on their every word.<p>

There wasn't nearly enough room to house all the students in one lecture hall, so they had reluctantly resorted to splitting up into four different groups, her current group was filled with most of the highly skilled meisters and recruits that showed great promise. There group had already been decided as the powerhouse of the defense force, deigned to bear the brunt of the attack. Under the circumstances, the students were taking it all quite well.

Her father was talking now, doing his best to sound confident and constantly looking at her, whether it was to make sure that his information was right or taking comfort in the presence of his daughter, she couldn't be certain. There was a diagram of the city on the board, marking out key areas and possible zones for combat if it were to ever come to that. Maka noticed that most of the seasoned meisters headed the main gate, with only a few dispersed to assist the less experienced ones. Maka saw Kid, Black*Star, and herself on the frontlines, which suited her just fine; if she were to fight an oncoming wave of kishin, she prefered it be with people she trusted watching her back.

Both of the meisters in question took their seats next to her, being the few people that had spent really any time with the witch, they were now considered more important. Maka had originally scoffed at the idea, they didn't know anything more than they did, only the fact that the witch ate like a pig and had about the same manners of one.

Regardless of her own opinion, they were still held in some regard about the subject. Black*Star was itching to fight something, anything, at this point. After his short conflict with the witch, he was eager to fight more. Kid sat contemplating strategies he could apply later on, while Liz and Patti conversed quietly. Maka's attention was snapped back to the current situation when she heard her name called. She stood quickly, dusting her jacket off as she descended the stairs to the speaking platform. Soul shuffled along wordlessly behind her, his slouch and aloof attitude suddenly a relief; the more unattached he seemed, the more relaxed the kids became. When they did finally reach the platform, Maka strood to the center, preparing what she was going to say.

Everyone else had already informed the students about battle tactics, the need to cooperate, and the threat they faced, she couldn't think of much that was left for her. She was saved by the sound of the doors to the room shudder open. She turned to the sound, expecting it to be a late comer, but was greeted by a very nervous, very sweaty Buddy.

"Made it." He gasped, as he leaned against the door of the room. Half of the student body tensed, while the other half instinctively reached out for their weapons. In a split second, Buddy was facing down half of Shibusen. He raised his arms in surrender as his larger eye bugged out, scanning the entire room in a moment. "Wait, wait! I came to help!"

Part of maka wanted to believe him, but a vast majority now knew better to trust anything connected to the witch. Soul was in scythe form and resting in her hands instinctively, his soul bristling with annoyance and anger. Maka bent into an aggressive stance, prepared to slice the homunculus in half.

"Talk fast." She said, her last bit of mercy for the poor boy fading quickly. Buddy gulped nervously as he peered around the room again.

"There are... things coming this way. Somehow, they know what we've told you already." With that simple sentence, the entire room shifted uncomfortable; the meisters were still prepared to defend themselves, but they didn't want to eliminate someone with valuable information so quickly. "There is no way that they could've figured out that you heard about this... unless."

Buddy's eyes shot to the size of dinner plates as the puzzle pieces in his head sluggishly clicked into horrifying place.

"Shit."

With the lightly breathed curse, there was a mechanical click and hiss. green puffs billowed out from underneath rows of chairs, quickly spreading throughout the room. Maka didn't have time to react before her body became paralyzed by the verdant toxin. A low chuckle erupted from the doorway, slightly muffled by a gas mask covering their face. Out from the green mist strode one of the newest recruits, a bitter, rude person that was suspected in aggravating and threatening other students. The boy continued his devilish laugh as he strode forward, drawing a harsh, jagged looking knife from his belt.

"They told me it would be easy, but I didn't suspect you'd make it this easy." He mocked as he waved the blade around. Soul growled, sending vibrations through the shaft of the scythe. Maka stared daggers at the boy.

"Don't be like that. You should be thankful." The treacherous student said with false concern, "At least your deaths will be quick and painless, unlike the rest of this rotting city. They're paying me good for this; while the rest of the world falls into despair, I'll live like a king."

Maka's blood boiled at the arrogance and disrespect for life, how the hell did he get into the school in the first place? The boy smiled, tapping the tip of the blade with his finger. His demonic smile was both so similar to the witch's, and yet it was so different. The witch's smile was unsettling, but it hid something playful... relatively safe; but this boy... his smile was evil, filled with malice and a deep-seated hunger for carnage. The boy's smile only deepened with every move, every pitiful moan and groan of struggle from the trapped meisters.

"Such a shame to waste that pretty face." The boy murmured with false remorse, raising the dagger above his head to strike.

great, the last thoughts I'm going to have are of regretting that idiotic witch not being here, Maka thought as she helpless watch as the dagger fell.

There was a flash of light from the door behind the boy. with an unflattering grunt, the boy flew across the room, missing Maka by an inch, before crashing into the far wall.

"I swear, I leave for a couple hours and you guys fall to pieces." Said a familiar voice, slightly altered by the muffling of fabric. The witch emerged through the fog, his shirt drawn over his mouth and nose, but the gas was working its way into his system. He shot a cascade of fireballs at the wall, shattering the windows in the back row. His breathing became ragged as he urged the candles in the hall to grow more intense, heating up the surrounding area. The gas began to dissipate, blowing out through the open door and broken windows. Maka felt the feeling begin to dully come to life in her toes and fingers. She allowed herself some faith in the witch, going out of his way to help them was a step in the right direction. There were some sighs of relief and a handful of moans as people began to regain control of their bodies slowly. The witch stepped back, allowing the candles to finish the job as he walked over to Maka and Buddy.

"We're in trouble." He murmured briefly, his mouth succumbing to the nerve poison. His body was slow but his eyes were darting back in forth, electrified in attention and determination. In the dull hush of the room, the witch's gasp of air was clear and ragged. He crumpled to the ground in a heap, his breathing heavy and diminishing at an unsettling rate.

It took Maka a moment to notice the cause, the jagged dagger of the recruit. The witch struggled helplessly on the ground, his body completely inhibited by the toxins that he had unfortunately breathed too deeply with a knife sunk nearly to the hilt in his back. The blood of the witch began to ooze out of the wound, gurgling through the fabric and soaking into the ground. This time, the blood wasn't changing, there was no green flash or regeneration; instead, the boy lay on the ground, at the mercy of the traitor.

"You can say that again." The recruit said dangerously, blood dripping from the edges of his mask as he smiled through the crimson veil.

* * *

><p>Writer Crap: New chapter, Fixed the spacing (thanks for the advice, you know who you are), will get onto the next chapter on the double.<p>

Would've had it up sooner, but the plague fairy seemed extra generous to me over the weekend.

Thanks for reading.


	13. A Not-So-Fun House

The traitor stood over the broken witch in relative triumph, the blood dripping from his mask as he coughed back more.  
>"That's for blasting me with fire." He said, gurgling through the blood as he stooped down and viciously tore the knife from the witch's skin, the only response to which was a pitiful yelp.<p>

"And this is for ruining my opportunity." He said with a snarl, stabbing down into the witch's unprotected thigh, the blade sinking deep into the back of his leg. The witch actually stirred, desperately trying to fight through the paralyzing smog that kept him involuntarily complacent. The traitor chuckled deviously as he twisted the knife in the wound, eliciting more unflattering sounds from the witch. "I would've lived great after this, I would've had a castle, There's not even enough time to kill half of them now!"

The dagger delved deeper, to the rest of the groups sickening view, until a slight bulge appeared on the opposite side of his leg.

"Hot Damn! went all the way through!" The demented child giggled, twisting the knife more. It was a damn miracle he hadn't severed an artery. Then again, from the blood on the ground, he had cut a ton of minor veins. Maka felt the feeling spread from her her hand to her forearm, but stayed still; the last thing she needed to do now was alert the sadistic traitor to his inevitable demise. The boy grew quickly bored with his sick game of making the witch grunt and yanked the dagger from his thigh, non to delicately. Maka felt the feeling begin to work its way up her arm, she just needed a little more time. Time, however, was in short supply. The boy raised the dagger over his head, preparing to strike.

"You don't want to know what I did to your friends." The witch panted out evenly. Even with blood pouring out of his severe wounds, the witch found a way to make his voice terrifyingly calm and even. "The others?"

The boys hand froze in the air, poised to strike at the witch's heart, yet he couldn't bring himself to let it fall.

"They weren't my friends."

"They were your comrades." The witch retorted, the eye that could be seen narrowing into a slit. The traitor seemed to go into a trance, lowering the knife slowly to his side. Maka felt the feeling spread halfway up her bicep, the witch just needed to stall a little longer.

"I suppose you were supposed to kill them too, just to get at that fortune you were promised." The witch continued, his speech wavering in what seemed like a chorus of voices. The traitor's face broke into a grin once again.

"Of course, it wouldn't be fun otherwise." the boy proclaimed happily, enticed by the melodic voice. There was a grunt of distaste from the group of meister's, but the witch continued his plan, unimpeded by the spectators.

"You like cutting things up?" The witch asked as he stared up at the boy. The witch's eyes betrayed no anger or malice towards the traitor, merely innocent curiosity. Maka begged her feeling to return faster, she had an awful feeling regarding what the witch was going to do.

"Of course!" the boy happily proclaimed, his hand instinctively tightening over the handle of the dagger.

"I know something you might enjoy cutting up." The witch said, using the last of his energy to nod in the traitor's direction. The traitor was confused at first, trying to understand what the witch was implying until the picture became grotesquely clear. The boy slowly raised the dagger from his side, resting the jagged point against his other hand. With a tug, the boy slid the serrated blade over his open palm remorselessly, drawing blood immediately. Maka's stomach lurched at the sight, the boy staring at his own blood in delight. As the boy raised his arm to strike at himself, Maka felt the feeling finally return to her body. She dashed forward, knocking the knife out of the boy's hands while simultaneously crashing the opposing end of the scythe into his stomach, knocking the wind from his lungs. He wheezed through the mask for a moment before Maka spun around, bringing the flat end of the scythe down on the corner of his head, knocking him unconscious. She glared down at the incapacitated witch.

"What the hell was that?" She asked pointedly, poising soul menacing. The witch grunted from the ground, his eye returning to its normal, if somewhat slightly more drowsy, state.

"Didn't think you'd make it in time, wonder-girl." The boy chuckled tiredly from the ground.

"That's not how we deal with things here!" Maka growled angrily, "We don't kill humans."

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not 'one of you'" The witch moaned, "I've learned mercy doesn't get you anywhere when it comes to this."

The witch's eyes drooped in weariness as his muscles relaxed, Maka could tell that he was moments away from passing out.

"We'll discuss this later." She growled unhappily.

"Whatever." The witch said stubbornly as he fell into a fitful rest.

* * *

><p>Though his body decided to rest, the witch's mind protested, stubbornly sending him to his absolute favorite place in the world, the hall of mirrors.<br>The witch didn't feel like games, he didn't try to find his way out, he didn't even try to move. The only winning move to make with the demented spirit was to not play at all. So that's exactly what he did, he sat down immediately, trying to rest in his own subconscious. There was a sharp, scraping sound that slowly began to grow in the distance, but the witch ignored it, doing his best to meditate under the circumstances. Soon the ever-present, sickening sound became too pervasive, invading his mind to the deepest reaches. He opened his eyes, peering around the general area for its source.

He found himself in an octagon shaped room, corridors spreading out in all directions. But the thing that caught his attention most was his own double, sharpening a dark blade in the corner.

"You're no fun." The shadow taunted, leaving his spot to approach the witch. His eyes were bloodshot and wide. If they were truly windows to the soul, the witch dreaded what he might find if he actually entered them. The duplicate raised the blade, resting the flat black of the sword on his shoulder. "You're not even going to ask about my party favor here?"

The witch was morbidly curious, the shadow's word for 'party' was almost always synonymous with 'regret' and 'blood-bath'. The witch sat still, closing his eyes again, maybe he would go away if he wasn't appeased in his attention seeking.

"Pay attention to me when I talk to you!" Was the upset response of the immature shadow, swinging the blade at his neck. He didn't even have to see the strike to be able to dodge it. He ducked beneath the strike as it scraped over his head, shaving the ends off of some unlucky hairs. The duplicate may have been overly aggressive, but he was at least consistently so. The Demon wasn't pleased and decided to take it out of a nearby mirror, shattering the inanimate object to dust. He felt the discarded fragments splatter his face and rumbled with discontent.

He had not paid careful attention to the blade when he had saved the girl's life, there was too much happening to be concentrated on the tiny weapon, something he regretted deeply. Not the save, that was good, very good. He liked the feeling, saving a life instead of taking one, he hoped he might feel it again soon. What he did regret was not paying attention, assessing the situation, something he always berated Buddy for not doing. The knife must've been obsidian or ebony, the only two elements that could leave any form of lasting wounds on him. He despised the drawback though he greatly appreciated the opportunity it presented. The ability to be basically invincible in return for being sensitive to only two materials? It was no contest. Though he had never had the choice in the first place, being born is not exactly an event one has any say in.

His thoughts were quickly halted by the burning force in his back, searing his flesh and back in a wave of rolling flames. The wound refused to give him peace, even when he retreated to unconsciousness and his own mind. At least the pain was shared by him and the shadow, meaning a rest from his annoying attacks.

That was exactly what he thought the moment before the flat of the blade connected with the side of his temple, sending a shockwave of pain resonating through his skull. He tumbled across the room, his body rolling sluggishly over the cold floor, until he came to a stop in front of the shattered mirror.

Not possible. was his only thought as the pain of the strike mixed with the agony of the burning wound.

"Oh, very possible." The duplicate purred, strolling casually to his limp body. "That was just the preview. It's another one of my party favors, though not quite as... exciting as something tangible. Like this knife here!"

The witch relented, opening his eyes shakily to peer out at the insane shadow.

"Ah, good! Thank you for complying! Would be a real shame if you got hurt any further!" He said with mock joy, twirling the point of the midnight-shaded blade against the ground. The witch sucked in a hiss of air, recognizing the blade, or at least its material. The shadow recognized the response, letting only the shadow of a smile through his mask.

"Oh, that's right! This kind of stuff is bad for you isn't it?" He cooed, shielding the blade sarcastically. "It would be a real shame if something were to happen."

The witch stood up, ignoring the pain from his back as best he could as he made for the exit, stopping short when he felt the blade slam into the back of his calf. He cried out in pain as he plummeted to the floor, his body splaying out around him as he connected with the unapologetic surface. The Replication sauntered in front of him, brandishing the now bloodstained blade.

"Are you ready for the pre-party warm-up?" He asked sadistically, raising the blade above his head as the witch's eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated terror.

* * *

><p>Buddy hovered over the unconscious witch like a mother bird, nursing the small goose egg on his head that he acquired by falling to the floor. The tentative group allowed him to treat to the witch's wounds in peace, though they kept a wary eye on the pair. After having the traitor thrown in the dungeon, Maka turned her fuming attention to Buddy, who took the undeserved ferocity in stride.<p>

"Why are you here?" She asked pointedly, as she eyed the witch's wound.

"That's one hell of a way to say 'thank you for saving our asses'" Buddy retorted as he cleansed out the witch's wounds. It was the first time any of them had seen the witch legitimately wounded, it was... unsettling; even more so, taking Buddy's reaction to the predicament into account. It may have been their first time seeing the witch like this, but the way Buddy behaved, he must not have seen the witch in such a pained position often either. He hesitantly washed out the wound, apologizing for every moan and groan the witch was able to manage. The witch seemed to do a lot of moaning and groaning, regardless of the treatment. At one time, Nygus had hesitantly rolled him over for a moment, regardless of Buddy's protests, opening his eye with her thumb and forefinger. The witch's eye had been cloudy and unfocused, but darted around erratically as if it were alert or looking for something. The only word Nygus muttered as she rolled him back over was, strange.

Buddy guarded the witch from any further invasions, his face scrunched up in pained guilt.

"This is my fault, he would've been fine if we kept on walking." He grumbled as he removed the eighth crimson bandage from his back. Seeing an opening, Maka pounced at the opportunity.

"Why did you come back?" She asked, trying to both comfort the homunculus and assert authority over him. Buddy looked up slowly, his eyes glistening as he rubbed his hands free of the red stains.

"Sometimes, I think he made me too human." He muttered as he turned his head away, hiding his face from the small group. "It would've been so much easier if I didn't... feel. I could just follow orders mindlessly, do his bidding like my kind should. but this asshole had to give me emotions." He said shakily as he cautiously kneaded the knots out of the witch's back. "We came back because I forced his hand, I used myself as a hostage to deliver you a message."

Maka felt her heartbeat skyrocket under the tension, her hands involuntarily clenching at her sides as she waited patiently for Buddy to continue.

"The storm is coming, batten down the hatches." He muttered with a chuckle. Maka understood what he meant, though she subconsciously tried to persuade herself otherwise. The army that they were unsure might come at all, was on their doorstep now. She shook her head, trying to dispel the terror that did its best to grip her very core.

"Everyone, get ready. Battle positions!" She felt herself saying, not quite sure what to do, instead letting her body naturally take over. She instinctively swept soul into her hands as she and the others started to funnel out of the room. She turned back towards Buddy for a moment.

"Will you help us fight?" She cautiously asked, hoping for all the help they could get. Buddy's eyes never left the witch as he answered.

"Maybe later, if i can get this dumbass on his feet."

Maka nodded, certain that the witch and Buddy would be of no help on the ensuing battle. Real shame, she would've like to fight side by side with the witch, she feared that she might never get the chance after this.

Buddy heard the large group leave, the murmurs of the unsure and frightened echoed off the cold walls as they left to the hopeless battle. He knew he should care more, but he was too busy worrying uselessly over the incapacitated witch. He had delivered the message, but at what costs? They couldn't even help in the fight now, not with the witch's injuries. He tried to reassure himself, telling himself that there was no way to know that they would have a traitor in the school, much less one with an obsidian dagger. He had to have that dagger, anything else would've been fine. The witch was tough, he felt pain but he didn't receive many lasting scars, even from his most torturous experiences. He had been fed through a woodchipper, sucked through an active jet engine, and decapitated several times; every time he managed to pull through, he would always crack one of his lame jokes, smile and move on. He had asked about getting a frequent flyers card after the engine incident, and he had reenacted a scene from hamlet with his own head after being decapitated. Everything was a joke to him and it drove Buddy insane sometimes; being reckless was dangerous, even to somebody near invulnerable.

Though the very situation proved that the witch was not invulnerable. Perhaps it would knock at least some sense into him, bring him down a peg, anything that might make him think more carefully about his actions. Though Buddy couldn't help but be proud of the headstrong action the witch had taken, if for the reason and not the strategy behind it. He hoped that being stabbed in the back had not been some sort of negative reinforcement, that would be detrimental to turning the witch into a functioning, non-psychotic, member of society.

Buddy sighed in defeat, he owed the witch a big favor after this, and those were always costly. They had saved lives though, perhaps the entire city. Buddy smiled at the thought, he had never before imagined him and the witch playing the part of the 'good guys'. The witch always scoffed at him for labeling things 'good' or 'bad', he knew what had to be done and he did it. Though Buddy could tell his heart wasn't behind that idea, he had the same problem Buddy did, he had too much heart.  
>Buddy's heart lifted when the witch slowly stirred, his entire body shaking slightly as he ground his face away from the ground to face towards him. Buddy gingerly covered up the open wound on his back, wrapping the bandage tight before rolling him over carefully.<p>

"Anyone here?" He groaned, rolling his head to the side. Buddy grinned as he looked around, the witch doubtlessly wanted to retain some dignity in front of people whose respect for him was shaky at the absolute best.

"No, they're all gone." Buddy chuckled, reaching down to help the witch up. The witch covered his eyes with his forearm, moaning at the effort to reach up. Buddy stooped down nearer to the witch, his hand more accessible.

The witch struck in the blink of an eye, delivering a devastating uppercut to Buddy's chin. Buddy had only a moment to contemplate the occurrence before crumpling to the floor, knocked unconscious.

"Excellent." The witch said, standing up effortlessly, sweeping up the dagger in one smooth motion. He opened his eyes to peer around the room as the shriveled into slits. The witch smiled as he started for the door, his prominent incisors elongating into two dangerous-looking fangs. "It's my turn to wreck some havoc."

* * *

><p>Maka ducked underneath a clawed hand as it fruitlessly attempted to decapitate her. She twirled away from a jab before leaning into her next strike, slicing Soul clean through the kishin's abdomen. She took a moment to breathe, surveying the battle. They had set up a perimeter outside of the city, in an attempt to reduce the collateral damage while the citizens were relocated to safer areas of the city. Luckily, the attack had been head-on and not divided up between the other entrances, leaving the other guard details leniency to send their supportive troops to help the effort by both evacuating civilians and assisting the main force. She noticed a blue blur dash by moments before a kishin ten yards away explode viciously. Black*Star's shadow shot out, entangling a shambling kishin long enough for Kid to sink a few rounds into its thick hide. The kishin rumbled in protest before falling forward into the red sand at its feet, dissolving into a floating egg.<br>Buddy hadn't been kidding when he said that the storm was coming, the force that was attacking outnumbered the meisters repelling it 3 to 1. Maka was pulled from her thoughts when a burrowing kishin exploded from the ground beneath her, flinging her into the air like a ragdoll. Bringing her attention into focus, she repositioned herself in air, bringing her scythe down through the kishin's head as she plummeted back to earth. She wiped the persistent grime away from her eyes as she strained to see the battlefield. Kim had been a great help, using Jackie to light small fires all around the desert, giving off enough light to see what they had to kill. Unfortunately, the fires were slowly dying out and Kim was preoccupied healing the wounded meisters and Jackie simply couldn't handle the hard process on her own.  
>With resignation, Maka decided that the only logical step to take was to draw back towards the city and establish a new foothold to repel the attack, maybe with cover and consistent lighting they could start to turn the tide of the battle.<p>

A strong whistling sound invaded her thoughts as a knife soared by her head. That wasn't strange, at least not during the current situation, what did draw her attention was the direction it had flown. The blade was going from front to back, meaning that someone behind her had thrown the dagger. She worried for a moment that there were more traitors among them that the witch hadn't cleared out, but her discouraging thoughts were wiped away when she noticed the dagger was inexplicably hovering in the air just a few feet in front of her, the first several inches simply gone.

The kishin howled in agony as it materialized in front of her, gripping at the blade engulfed in its stomach. Maka finally noticed the dagger itself in the flickering fire behind her, noticing the jagged edges and the dark black finish. She heard a delighted, if not psychotic, laugh explode behind her as a blur raced past her.

The witch lept up in a single bound, his foot connecting with the tip of the dagger, forcing it clean through the kishin's body. The kishin grabbed at the gaping hole in its abdomen, howling one last time as the witch burrowed his fist into the hole. The kishin gurgled a moment before being engulfed in a pillar of white flames. The ashes of the body fell away in the light breeze peppering the nearby meisters as a kishin egg slowly appeared in the air before the witch.

The witch cackled maniacally as he scooped up the egg with one hand and the dagger in the other. Without a moment to spare the witch shoved the egg in his mouth, swallowing quickly as he deflected a thrown sword with the dagger.

"Oh goody! The second wave is here!" Maka heard the witch giggle as he pointed to the sky. With a start, Maka noticed that the dark figures in the sky that were slowly approaching were not the clouds she had once believed them to be; instead, a winged, flying armada of kishin were rapidly approaching the battlefield, roughly half the size of the ground force. Maka shook her head, this was impossible, some kind of sick joke.

She shook herself out of the fuzz; she couldn't do this, not now, not when she needed to be a leader for others to follow. Stein and spirit both looked confident in their abilities regardless of how scared they were, that is what she needed to be too. Though deep down she suspected that stein was anxious to see how the kishin's functioned in a group formation, though from the looks of it they simply didn't. It was an all out brawl, like someone let the kishin loose and pointed them all in the same direction, no strategy or attack plan, just attack.

There was a collective glow from the second wave which dissipated only when large shots of fire flew down at the battlefield. The witch placed both his hands in front of him calmly as the fiery balls of doom approached. Maka thought he was insane, an idea that wasn't completely impossible, until she noticed the faint glow over the battlefield. The firebolts exploded in the air, sending shockwave after shockwave through the air, buffeting the weary meisters with strong gusts and wind strewn sand. The witch shuddered under the pressure of all the clashing forces, his cloak blown behind him as if he were in a wind tunnel, snapping and whipping in the air erratically, but through all the blasts he kept his ground. The mass of the kishin force wasn't protected by the blasts, taking large casualties from the explosive weapons that cascaded around them.

With the last blast's explosion resounding dramatically over the empty plain, the witch let his hands fall to his side, unperturbed by what must have been majorly draining. Maka noticed the red sand forming at his feet, the fresh blood spilling openly onto the sand. The witch glanced back, grinning eerily, his once pearly whites now covered in crimson blood. He spit nonchalantly into the sand, peppering the dark ground with more red before turning back to the remaining forces.

"Take care of those will you?" He asked as he pointed towards the sky, his crimson grin sending shivers down her spine. "I need some... alone time with these."  
>Without another word, the witch ran forward, chortling as he waved his dagger in the air. Maka wasn't sure who was more surprised, the meisters or the kishins. The first kishin in the line gurgled inquisitively as the obviously insane boy charged in, laughing like a clown. The sand around the mass churned violently as the witch dived in, shooting up in pillars around the group. Stringy webs began to criss cross over the area, cocooning in both the witch and the kishins; after a moment, the webs widened, forming large canvases of red and white stripes. In a matter of seconds, the place where the assault force had once stood was encompassed by a large carnival tent. Spotlights began to dance across the walls of the tent while disturbing carnival music began to ring out, only matched in volume by the witch's shrieks of perverse joy.<br>Maka and the others turned their attention to the flying kishins, many of which panicked. Their one good advantage, the surprise attack and subsequent bombardment had not only failed, but backfired terribly. The meisters that could fly took to the skies, ready and most certainly willing to avenge their wounded allies.

* * *

><p>It took them nearly an hour to route out all the flying kishin, good time considering the sheer size of the force. The only thing that had sustained their upper hand was the ghoulish cries coming from the striped canvas tent, sending the kishin into fits of fear and frenzy.<p>

Maka wanted a warm shower and a soft bed, but it felt like the night would drag on even further. She landed gracefully on the ground, doing her best to wipe away the dried bits of gore from her outfit as she strode over to the rest of the group. With the witch... 'dealing with' the rest of the kishins, they had decided to let the more wounded and weary meisters return to shibusen so they could heal and rest respectively. Kid stood next to Black*Star at the front of the small group, staring inquisitively at the large structure.

"Let's get in there already, take out the rest of the trash!" Black*Star whined, hopping up and down on the balls of his feet, eager to get back to fighting.

"And unleash the hive of kishins that are trapped? That doesn't sound like such a good idea." Kid said calmly, placing a hand on the cool surface of the tent while the spotlights continued to dance playfully over the surface. As much as Maka would like to let the Kishin rot in the tent forever, she didn't know how long it would last and she didn't know if the witch was still fighting them or even still alive for that matter. The last thing they needed was for the tent to shatter and release a horde or rejuvenated kishins on the city.

"It's asymmetrical." Maka coaxed, deciding to appeal to his eccentricity instead of his logic. Kid took a few steps back before pivoting on the balls of his feet, unloading shot after shot into the side of the structure. The roaring explosive blasts ebbed quickly, leaving behind nothing but a gaping crater in the side of the canvas.

"Some things just have to be done." Kid concluded as he motioned for the rest to follow him. There was no sound in the entrance, and the interior of the hole was sheltered from their view. the spotlight playfully glanced off the area, revealing blood stained walls and several scorch marks peppering the hallway like entranceway. the walls inside the structure were thinner than the outer canvas, allowing the light to pass through easily.

There was a skittering noise coming from down the hallway, chorused along with erratic hissing and howling. After a moment, a kishin broke through the haze of darkness, huffing and stumbling away from the structure with its leg bent painfully. When its eyes finally found their way onto the group of meisters, the kishin rushed for them. Maka raised her scythe as the rest of the group readied their weapons. The kishin tripped and skid a few extra feet landing just short of ten feet from them. The kishin lifted its head out of the sand, it attempted to stand up but its efforts were continually blocked by its twisted leg.

"Kill me!" It howled at them from its position from the ground, reaching out in despair. "Please! I'm sorry! Kill me, do whatever, just don't send me back in there!"

The group stood in stunned silence as it stared at the begging kishin. It scuffled across the ground, trying to gain distance on the group, begging for mercy as it crawled. Out of the darkness shot dark strips of fabric, slithering across the ground like prowling snakes. The kishin shrieked in terror at the strips, clawing furiously at the ground to get away. The strips lept out at the kishin, ensnaring its limbs and torso, before snapping backwards, dragging the kishin, literally kicking and screaming, into the dark tent.

The howling could still be heard outside of the tent as the kishin begged an invisible force for mercy, or at least a swift death. There was a sickening slicing sound, promptly ending the kishin's begging. The walls of the canvassed tent began to turn back into sand, sagging in most places as other smaller areas began to crumble away entirely. The center of the tent imploded, sending out tremors through the ground and causing a cascading effect throughout the entire structure. The roof of the tent fell in completely as a dark figure emerged from the blasted crater, an explosion of sand blinding the group from a closer look.

Maka wiped the specs of sand from her eyes as she coughed up the unintentionally ingested grains. She looked up at the witch, only to regret it deeply after seeing him clearly.

The witch had successfully eliminated the entire ground kishin force, but they had not gone without a fight, as the witch's appearance clearly proved. He was a shambling wreck, his body deformed and mutilated in ways Maka didn't know was possible to have happen and still allow the recipient to... survive.

The witch's right eye hung from its socket, connected only by the nerve cluster, swaying back and forth like a demented pendulum. The boy's left ear was missing entirely, the area beneath the ear and the left side of his face were caked in dry and partially wet blood. The boys arms were both broken, some fractures visibly protruding from the skin, causing his arm to twist and bend in places it just wasn't supposed to. The skin over his lower abdomen was torn away, revealing the still beating and function organs, some of which were visibly dislodged and attempting to escape through the open orifice. His right leg was completely twisted around, the foot at the end of which was barely connected to the leg, causing him to shamble and shudder with every step.

Maka could hear screaming, she knew she would be if she could wrap her mind around the sight. The witch had some sort of mystic healing powers, this shouldn't have been possible, yet for some morbid reason it was. There was the sound of people getting physically sick of the sight behind her, one person actually fainted. Through it all the witch shambled closer, the dagger still in the hand that held it with a white-knuckled grip; his mouth still set in the terrifying grin.

"Did you miss me?" He shouted, blood pouring from his mouth as he spoke. that's an internal injury of sort, Maka found herself absent-mindedly observe, her subconscious actively trying to find anything to take her mind off of the scene before her. The witch finally acknowledged their reactions, peering down at himself in mock horror. "When did this happen!"

The witch waved his hand, green light flickering across his body slowly. The witch spread out his shattered arms, allowing the emerald light to glide across his limbs, repairing and replacing as they went. After a few moments, the light snapped off, leaving a reformed witch in its absence. The cold wind of the night gusted for a moment, blowing the witch slightly off balance. His foot slipped on the loosely packed sand he stood on, sending him tumbling over, the only sounds produced were his grunt and the sickening slice of a blade.

The witch slowly stood, both hands void of his weapon. With a start, Maka realized the blade was now lodged in the witch's side. If he felt pain, the witch didn't show it, he only frowned as he searched himself for the missing object. When his eyes glanced over it, he let out a demented cackle, filling the soundless night. His hand tightened around the grip, yanking the serrated blade free from its fleshy holster. The witch held the dagger up, examining the fresh blood in the pale moonlight.

There was a collective gasp as the witch's reptilian tongue rolled free from his mouth, playfully licking the crimson liquid from the cold metal. His eyes rolling back in his head as slurped up the blood greedily. The group looked on in horror as the witch completely cleaned the blade, licking off every last drop of blood.

"What... what are you?" Maka croaked at the witch. The witch grinned back at her as he shuddered in ecstasy from the banquet of blood.

"Why tell you when it's so much easier and fun to show you?" The witch responded, bringing his knife-wielding hand to his side as he prepared to pounce. The witch's slitted eyes danced across the group, like a snake inspecting his cornered mice.

Maka raised her scythe instinctively, only half-aware of the immediate danger. There was about to be a blood-bath, the only question that still stood was whose blood would be spilled?

* * *

><p><em>Authory tid-bits: so the computers at my school function off of internet explorer and because of the mixing of that abomination of technology and the unadulterated heaven of google docs I almost lost this entire chapter. Luckily I was able to hop back to an earlier revision and save myself from a heart attack and the school from an anonymous fire (sarcasm, wouldn't actually do that; and if I would do<em> _it_,_ I sure as hell wouldn't tell the internet)._

_cheers!_


	14. The Shifting Sands

Everything burned and he had no clue what was going on. That was the quickest way he could sum up his present situation with cognitive thought, the rest of his mind was drawn away by the intense pain that was racking his body. He had been in something like this before, when he was forced to relive that event. Daren had been there, betraying him again in a different lifetime, only to mock and laugh at him all over again. This was different, He had no control over his body like before but now he didn't have any of his senses either, except for feeling which was made abundantly clear through the burning tear wounds that continued to ravage his body.

He would not scream out, he refused. No one could hear his cries for mercy except for the witch, who would only take sick pleasure from his pain. So he resigned himself to sitting idly by, silent and immovable. That is what he had told himself before the doppelganger crossed the line. When the double had invaded his mind, he had done more than just sabotage him, he had found things. The deepest reaches of his mind housed the pains he wished to keep locked away, all the things he was ashamed to admit he had done or things he knew he could never confess to; but now they were all replayed, every vivid, horrifying detail, right before his eyes.

In the end he did scream, he cried to the heavens for some sort of release. His body was breaking and his mind was deteriorating and he just wanted it all to end, whether that meant the demonic double releasing control of his body or simply finishing the job.

_someone help me._

* * *

><p>The battle was one-sided, it was a slaughter. She didn't know how or why but they were kicking the absolute shit out of the witch. The witch was riddled with bullets and cut to shreds with weapons, not to mention battered and burned by all other means of attack, but he just kept coming. The most disturbing thing was the laugh, oh shinigami the laugh. He just couldn't shut up, he just kept laughing like a maniac let out of the looney bin and no matter what they did he would not stop. They had snapped off his jaw and he had just continued to gurgle away in total glee until he popped it back into place. They had tried to reason with him, they had been willing to compromise, but he just kept advancing on both the group and the city. no one had been seriously injured, only a few had even gotten hurt, and those had seemed more like accidents than actually malicious intent.<p>

"What are you waiting for?" The crazed boy screeched as he lept out of the darkness of the night, the only sign of his presence being his glowing red eyes. The moon had slipped behind cloud cover shortly after the fighting had begun and had made the whole situation that much worse. The knife slashed across the air in front of her, causing her to step back out of instinct. Unfortunately for her, she had a stride of three feet and the dune had an edge of two. She tumbled down the sandy dune, rolling to a stop at the bottom of the hill in a daze.

She spit out the sand in her mouth and shakily rose to her feet. She looked around, frantically searching for the demented witch when she heard the cackles erupt behind her. She spun around quickly, slashing Soul through the air with terror-filled precision. A sickening slicing sound rewarded her actions as the moon peeked out from around the clouds. The witch stood before her, as disheveled as the moment he had exited the fun house, bloody and broken. His body was ravaged with broken bits yet his eyes still shone with child-like mischief. He was holding his throat as the dark red liquid spilled from around his hands.

"Tag, I'm it!" He gargled through the crimson blood as he lunged forward, the knife missing Maka's throat by mere inches. The sand around them erupted in a flurry of bullets as Kid took his opportunity. The witch's face was swiss cheese in seconds, the rapid fire assault of Kid's pair of handguns riddling his head with numerous bullets. The drooping mass hung in the air for a second, the neck connected to it caked in gore and blood. The green shimmering act started all over again, roving up the base of his neck and over the bloody mess. The witch cackled as soon as his mouth was reformed.

"This is marvelous! Having a body is fantastic!" He cried out as lifted his arm into the air, preparing to strike down at Maka. His arm had only begun to drop when Maka spun, bringing Soul up to waist level and slicing clean through the witch's body. The spray of blood was immense and Maka could only stumble back in disgust as the boy's lower body staggered around momentarily before plopping into a pool of its own blood. The witch's upper half laid several yards away, knocked clean from the rest of his body by the mere force of the attack alone. The lower halves puddle of blood glowed dully with green energy attempting to find the rest of the body. Maka batted the portion away, trying to buy time with the immobilized witch.

"What are you?" She asked it again, looming over the chuckling witch.

"Haven't I shown you enough?" He cried happily, waving its arms around as best he could without falling over. "I don't have forever in this thing!"

It took her a moment to realize what the... thing... was saying.

"What did you do to him?" She asked, keeping her voice as steady as she could. The boy rolled his eyes, his face held the witch's mischievous grin but was void of any actual playfulness.

"He's... controlled. For the moment at least." The boy howled as he lunged forward. Maka was taken off guard and managed to jump back before the witch could do any real damage, but she paid for her reaction with several minor cuts along her lower legs. The witch peered off into the distance, his smile broadening. Maka heard the whistling early enough to duck before the witch's lower half had the chance to collide with her; she stubbornly swatted it down, catapulting it even faster into the witch's upper half. The two halves tumbled through the cold desert sand, toppling over one another until the witch finally rolled to a stop, the two halves connected once again.

Maka raised her weapon menacingly, preparing for the witch's next move. The witch doubled over laughing, his demented screeches filling the night air.

"Mortal brains are so simple, all you need to do is cross a few wires and everything just kind of... falls apart. You should see the magic I can work with pain receptors."

It snickered in glee. To prove its point, the witch spun the knife in his hand with ease, dragging the jagged blade across his chest savagely. The blood erupted immediately and sickeningly, soaking through his shirt quickly. "I am the definition of unstoppable! I don't feel pain and I can't be killed! There's nothing anyone can do about it!"

The area where the witch stood exploded in a cloud of sulphuric ash as Kid's 'Death Cannon' made contact, tossing the witch through the air. Before the witch could land, he was juggled again through the air by Black*Star, every punch landing with a sickening crack. The witch hit the ground like a sack of bricks, flinging up a cloud of sand around him. He was still for a moment as the green wave did its magic, repairing the broken and fractured bones in what felt like an instant. The witch rose again, much to the group's dismay but not surprise.

"You can't stop me, no one can." It said, dead calm. The words hung in the air, the halting of the witch's laughter only amplified the true silence of the night. Maka stared into the witch's eyes, the slits were reptilian, she could tell without even checking that this things heart was as cold as its blood. The witch stood in silence as he stared at the group, the dagger still enclosed in his fist. "Which of you will scream the loudest when I slice into you?"

The dune behind them erupted in a burst of brilliant light, knocking the group of four to the ground. The witch jumped to his feet quickly, unaffected by pain and physical restraints unlike the rest of the group. A ball of fire hit the witch square in the chest knocking him back another twenty feet. He coughed the sand from his mouth, looking up just in time as another barrage of fireballs crash down around him. The witch howled as he exploded in a cloud of fire, his limbs blown off by the force. The basketcase witch struggled on the ground, unable to move.

There was a small whistling sound as three arrows shot through the air, piercing the witch directly in the chest. The witch hissed and wailed as he rolled from side to side, acidic, green smoke rolling off of his body.

"What was that about no one stopping you?" A familiar voice rang out. Buddy appeared over the hill carrying a large bow over his shoulder. He was slowly pouring a black liquid over another arrow, washing the tip in the midnight black oil. He screwed the cap back on the container, snapping the small vial back onto his belt. He readied the arrow, calmly releasing his grip and letting the projectile loose. The arrow sunk itself deep into the witch's abdomen, bringing about more pain for the monster.

"HOW!?" it howled in agony, curling up in pain. The severed limbs flopped around, the pain extending the vast distance and sending the detached appendages into seizures.

"release him now, or this gets much worse." Buddy said, dead calm as he approached the wailing witch. He reached into the knapsack slung on his shoulders, pulling out a small booklet. He opened the bound book to a dark red bookmark, tearing out a page. He sliced the page into three separate slices, holding them up threateningly. The witch flinched backwards involuntarily, howling at the brave homunculus. He threw the slips at the witch, one striking him in the face and the other two in his abdomen. The witch hissed as the strips of paper elongated around his body, slowly coiling like snakes around their prey.

"Fine! If you want him so bad, you can have him!" The monster shrieked as it rolled in agony, laughing in morbid glee. "Tell him I said hi, will you?"

The boy roared as the strips of paper steamed against his body and the acidic smoke still rose from the arrows. For a moment, it seemed like nothing happened, then the smoke and steam slowly dissipated, leaving a catatonic witch in its place. The coils loosened and fell away and the boy's limbs slowly arced back towards their body, the green light already going to work. The witch stared up at the sky, not showing any signs of consciousness.

Then the screaming started.

* * *

><p>He had asked for a rescue, but that had been far too long ago. How long had he been under, an hour, a year, a second? A year. That thought was terrifying beyond belief, what the hell would the demon be able to do in that time, kill everyone? Then again, that wasn't his still, he disliked killing directly, he prefered to tear people down until they reach absolute desperation and depression, then leaving the grisly bits to them.<p>

It didn't matter, nothing did. How could he go on? The thing had shown him what he was, all the dark, evil parts he so desperately tried to hide, the things that he had hidden so well. In the end, the double still won, he had broken him. The pain didn't just linger, it was reinforced with the regaining of his own body. What would he do now? what would he be forced to do? He wanted desperately to run away, to hide forever. But he had no limbs to run or crawl and he knew if he hid that they would find him eventually. He was aware of how he could go on, he had to do what he always did. Fight.

But the pain was too powerful, he could fight later, right now he had to focus on how to release himself from the all consuming torture. So he screamed.

He found it comforting, being able to hear his own voice in person. Though he wasn't completely sure he could say it was his voice, but the fact that he could hear any sound at all was something at least.

He felt his limbs attach themselves to his body, the green light sealing the wounds quickly. His hands dove to his head, clawing and pulling at his hair in pain. He sat up on his knees, the cool night air felt good on his burning skin. He ripped the arrows from his chest, causing blood to rush from the drastic wounds immediately. He sat screaming for the longest time, at one point he felt someone grab him by the shoulders, trying to shake him out of his stupor. He ignored the outside force, still frantically trying to regain control of his own body.

He tasted blood in his mouth, he recognized that his whole body was broken, the double wasn't one to play nice with others. His throat began to hurt more and he could feel the blood rush to his mouth faster. paused from screaming long enough to spit the blood out of his mouth. The crimson liquid splattered the desert floor with a sickening splat. He stared at the blood on the cold sand, his head suddenly felt very light. The entire world shifted as he felt himself fall, the hands caught him as tipped towards the ground. He felt his consciousness slip out as he looked up at the starry night sky.

Buddy was screaming at him, but his ears only registered a distorted, echoing copy of it.

"Everything is going to be okay!" He heard the homunculus shout to him, breaking through the verbal barrier. The witch nodded numbly at the boy, rational thought finally weaving its way into his mind.

"Yeah, of course." He said quietly, not quite sure if Buddy could hear him. "Just need... to take a little nap."

The hands coiled around him, wrapping him in a tight hug as he gazed at the stars. In the corner of his eye he could see a shooting star, he smiled to himself at the sight. Then his eyes closed lazily, shutting him out from the world.

Buddy huddled over the unconscious witch, rocking him back and forth in his arms. A majority of his wounds had already closed, but a small percentage of the cuts were still open and bleeding. Not only that, but blood continued to pour out of his mouth. Buddy carefully laid the witch against the sand, brushing himself off as he stood up.

"Kim is good with healing spells right?" He asked, turning to them calmly. Maka nodded, the group was still collectively disturbed by the monster that had infested the witch's body. Buddy snapped his fingers, snapping them out of their daze and getting their attention.

"He's going to need some sort of medical attention." He enunciated slowly, trying to get them to actually hear his words. "I need one of you to go get her while someone else helps me drag his possibly dying body back into town."

The fact that the witch could need help with healing, much less the thought of him dying drove Maka out of her stupor. Soul transformed out of her hand, landing in a puff of sand next to her. Kid summoned beelzebub and shot into the night sky, soaring towards the city. Maka grabbed one of the witch's arms as they began to bring him back towards the city.

They owed him that at least.

* * *

><p>The witch rolled in the tide of his subconscious, content to stay in the quiet lull for as long as possible. The ebbing of the waves swept over him, cooling his overheated mind. Nothing good could last forever for him, and the change in the tide was well past due. The waves swept him under, the once peaceful water now uncharacteristically aggressive. The directions in his mind became warped, and he went from lying on his back to standing upright. He didn't open his eyes immediately, he decided to stand still and let the warm light wash over him. He didn't know the source of the light or why it had suddenly decided to invade his delightful peace, but he didn't really care all that much. When he opened his eyes, he was standing in an unfamiliar room with a familiar person waiting for him.<p>

The white haired man smiled through the window, the warm light washing over him as well.

"It's been awhile." The calm, sincere voice said, turning away from the light and towards the witch, his grin growing larger.

"Yeah." The witch said, his voice surprisingly quiet. The man turned back towards the window, letting the cleansing life wash over him again.

"I regret I haven't been more help in the recent... events." He said, slightly embarrassed. "I was unfortunately detained by our mutual acquaintance."

The witch nodded, still rattled from before.

"So what exactly is this place. Seems a bit too... modern to be one of your memories." The witch said, happy to change subjects. The older man nodded, his face a veil.

"That's because it's yours." He said smoothly, though his voice was controlled, a small smile began to break through his emotionless mask. "This is from your memories."

The witch stood in silence for a moment, contemplating the meaning behind his words when it began to come together. His mouth twitched, desperately trying to break into a joyous grin, though the witch consciously restrained the action, trying to keep his expectations low and manageable.

"Then if I don't remember this place..." He began, failing miserable halfway through, giggling like a child. The man smiled broadly as he nodded along with the witch.

"It messed up, that rewiring ended up giving you more than a bad time." The man stated, his happiness somewhat dampened by the remembering of the previous suffering. The boy waved off the negative feelings, instead deciding to focus on the positives. He had gotten at least some of his memory back. Even for the price he paid, it seemed worth it. The room felt like it was getting brighter, as if it were mimicking his mood. he tried to remember what the room could be tied to, what part of his past he had managed to unlock. It felt like the answer was on the tip of his tongue and the more he tried to pin it down the farther it managed to evade him.

"Damn it!" He finally screamed in frustration, slamming his fist down on the small table next to him. For the first time, he began to notice the details of the room.

They wavered slightly, like a mirage. If he looked too closely they would vanish completely, but that didn't stop him from trying to glean every bit of information he could out of the shimmering objects. The table that he had hit was set very low, obviously a children's table. There were crayons and papers strewn across its surface, forming a collage of poorly drawn artwork. He couldn't see them clearly but he could tell they were drawn by someone very young, or someone with terrible artistic capabilities. The thing that caught him off guard was the fact that they seemed... happy. There were bright colors and smiles all over the loose scraps of paper. He turned towards the wall next to the man. There was a small bookcase, filled with several children's stories. They all seemed pretty normal to him: 'Little Red Riding-Hood', 'Three Little Pigs', 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. They all seemed in near-mint condition, all except for one raggedy book near the bottom. He stooped down to take a better look at the book, reaching out to grab the shimmering tome. The entire bookcase flashed out of existence in front of him, disappearing before he could reach the book. He grumbled in frustration as he turned back towards the window.

The man was gone. Everything in the room was gone. The window began to shimmer as the light grew even more intense. The witch covered his eyes, trying to shield himself from the all-pervasive light. The room began to rumble as an audible humming became apparent. The witch felt his heart rate increase as he began to stumble backwards away from the window. He tripped over himself as he staggered in reverse, falling slowly to the ground. He closed his eyes as he braced for impact, the light and hum growing louder the closer he got to the floor.

With a start, he bounced forward, nearly impaling himself on a small flashlight. The women in bandages, he numbly remembered she was named Nygus, nearly fell backwards in surprise. The humming had evened out into a steady beeping noise, drawing the witch's attention to the corner of the bed he lied in. The monitor beeped consistently, the little green line jumping at regular intervals. The boy noticed for the first time that both of his hands were shackled to the sides of the bed. Nygus took her leave, nodding towards the corner as she exited the room.

"About time." He heard a huff from the corner. The witch winced at the sound, recognizing the voice immediately.

"Hey Kim." He said quietly, slowly leaning back into his bed. "How long was I out?"

Kim stood up from her chair, hands in her pockets, carefully making her way to the side of his bed. She slowly drew out her right hand, showing the witch the key.

"You get one hand uncuffed now, and the other when we're done... talking." She said plainly, ignoring his question. she slipped her left hand down to grab him by the wrist.

"I'll assume I don't have any choice in the matter." The witch mumbled as he felt her unclasp the binding around his wrist. He brought his now free hand to his cuffed hand, trying to rub away the soreness.

"What do you remember?" Kim asked as she leaned against the wall next to him, her face partially obscured by the monitor. The witch tried to remember everything that had happened but was somewhat distracted by his lingering thoughts on the dream.

"Uh... waking up, then... screaming, lots of screaming." He said finally, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. Kim nodded slowly as she let out sigh.

"Everyone's okay. Not that you'd care anyway." She said. The witch rolled his eyes, sitting up carefully.

"If you want to be passive-aggressive, fine by me. But don't assume I'm heartless." He said. Kim snapped, pushing the monitor out of the way as she charged the bed.

"If you don't like passive-aggressive, how about aggressive. You could've killed someone, for all we know you might've!" She hissed as she slammed the witch back down on the bed. The witch turned to push her away, but she was prepared. She grabbed his free arm, pulling it away and pinning it to his side. He struggled weakly against her restraint, his body weakened terribly from his extended sleep.

"Tell me what that thing was." The girl seethed angrily, easily hopping easily over the railing of the bed, landing with a leg on each of his sides, pinning him down entirely.

"What that thing is." replied the growling witch, "And I could release it at any moment."

"You wouldn't dare!" Kim said as a hint of terror filled her eyes.

"Try me." replied the witch, still weakly struggling.

Kim reached her hand out to the opposite side of the bed, retrieving a familiar black object from the side table. The witch gulped as he he fell further into the bed, the tip of the obsidian blade resting uncomfortably against the bottom of his chin.

"I could've cut you up at anytime, repaid you for all the blood you spilled. I could've made you wish you were never born." She stated coldly. The witch looked back at her with dead eyes, his face completely still.

"You're a couple years too late, sweetheart." He said quietly.

"This isn't a game." She said as the dagger's point drew slowly away from his throat.

"Whoever said it was?" The witch responded with finality. Kim leaned back to rest on the balls of her feet, letting out a shaky breath. she deposited the black dagger back on the nightstand with a clatter as she stared down at the witch.

"What exactly is wrong with you?" Kim asked, frowning slightly.

"Why does everybody ask that question?" The witch responded with a grin. The door opened as Buddy entered with a ridiculous grin on his face.

"Hey, Nygus told me that you finally woke up. Listen, we need to ta-" The homunculus stopped in his tracks as soon as the two witches came into view. Buddy's face began to burn bright red as he slowly began to slide behind the door. "You know what? I'll come back later, after you're... done."

The door closed with a hushed click as the two looked on in confusion. Kim looked back to the witch when her face began to flush. She rolled off the bed like it was on fire, scrambling for the door, fuming over the 'compromising position' they were found in. She turned back at the witch just as she nearly yanked the door off of the hinges, holding up the second handcuff's key with her free hand.

"Almost forgot this." She said hurriedly, moving to throw it towards the witch. The witch let out a low chuckle as he shook the handcuff loose from his wrist holding up a single clawed digit.

"No need." He said as he moved his sore body, rotating himself so his legs hung over the side of the bed. He started to get up, trying to mentally command the weariness out of his bones as he shakily got to his feet. He waved Kim away, letting her run freely after Buddy. He looked down at himself, glad they hadn't stuck him in usual hospital garb with the embarrassing open back, instead they had put him in relaxed pants with a simple drawstring and a buttonable shirt. A couple of the upper buttons were undone, probably to allow Nygus easier access to his heart for examination. He rotated his arms, trying to get more feeling back into them as he went to rebutton them when he noticed the faint grey marks on his chest that peeked out from the loose fabric. He frantically unbuttoned the shirt to reveal the quartet of holes in his body that were encircled by the discolored skin. His hands shook as he hurriedly button the shirt back up as footsteps began approaching his room.

"Goddammit Buddy." He hissed to himself as he dashed out of the room.


	15. The Fragmenting Mind

Maka had refused to sit idly by while the witch recovered, there was too much work to do. The damage to the city, though minimal, was daunting to repair. The kishin's attacks weren't the most accurate strikes, but the power behind them had caused plenty of destruction to the city turned battlefield. They had been wise to try and keep the battle out of the city; if they hadn't, much of it would be rubble. The physical damage to the meisters and weapons had not been overwhelming, but it had been enough to slow some of the work. The physical wounds would have been issue enough, but the confusion of the entire thing only amplified the devastation of the attack. The fact that kishins would not only bunch up into such a large group under coordination, but use that to attack shibusen itself, was terrifying. The group that had to face the witch in all his twisted goodness had fared much, much worse. Some were still having nightmares, even more than a week later.

Nine days had passed since the attack and most of the damage done to the city and its occupants was slowly being repaired. Maka would've had much less to worry about if a certain high-ranking meister was actually participating in the clean up instead of trying to ' chase tail'. Maka's father wasn't always the brightest or focused on a task, but Maka felt like she almost had to applaud his persistence, she only wished that that persistence was focused on something constructive.

The only major problem that remained was the witch. Half of the school believed the witch himself brought the army to their doorstep, Maka dismissed this idea quickly; if he really had led an army to kill them all, he surely wouldn't have warned them about it, much less destroy a large portion of the army himself. They had had traitors in their midst; many of the students refused to accept that fact, even some of the higher-ranking meisters were reluctant to accept that fact. If Maka was to put her money on anything, she would assume the person behind it was Daren. It felt insane, someone that young controlling a horde of kishin, but she could think of no other explanation. Then again, according to the witch, Daren was supposedly much, much older than his appearance suggested. All of it was moot at this point, the attack had come and it had been defeated, the only thing they should be worrying themselves with now is fixing the damaged city and weakened meisters.

Everyday they had gone to see the witch in the dispensary, checking in on his progress. Kim had, reluctantly, stabilized and healed the witch to the best of her abilities before they carried his body back to shibusen. He had been a mess for the first couple days. Nygus checked on him frequently and reported that initially, his eyes had darted around like he was in REM sleep, but after some time he had relaxed into a near comatose state. Buddy hardly spent any time away from building if he could help it; at one point, they had caught him sleeping in one of the dispensary chairs in the morning. When he wasn't watching over the witch, he was a great help to the rebuilding effort, he could do the work of 5 others and was far more accurate and competent in his work. He had blamed the witch for his skill in the craft, after some battles the witch would simply pass out, leaving Buddy to take care of the cleaning up process without the aid of the glowing, green lights. Regardless of the reasons behind it, Buddy's skill was greatly appreciated. No one had mentioned the fact that he could use a bow with skill, whether that was because they had been too busy, tired, or anxious about making one of their best builders uncomfortable they couldn't tell; Maka was content with letting the homunculus work in peace, he wasn't hurting anybody and his presence was welcome nearly everywhere.

Kim had not been happy when she was asked to help the witch, whatever had divided them must have been terrible for the animosity between the two of them to get to this point. She had healed the witch when they had brought him to her, the fact that Buddy was begging for her help might have influenced it slightly. Everyday, Kim had gone back to the dispensary to speed up the witch's healing progress; making it clear that she was only doing it for Buddy, not the witch. They had planned to go out to check the city's progress as a group, so Maka had left early from her project to pick up Kim from the dispensary.

Buddy rounded the corner, awkwardly half-walking, half-jogging away from the dispensary, his face beet red. A flustered Kim quickly darted around the corner after him, grabbing him by his sleeve to stop him. Maka tilted her head slightly, their excited talking drawing some attention from some of the resting meisters lounging in the area.

"- wasn't what it looked like!" Kim hissed nervously, her head darting around, checking to see if anyone was paying attention to their conversation; when Kim's eyes finally rest on Maka, her face began to redden to Buddy's level.

"What's going on?" Maka slowly asked, not completely sure if she wanted to know. Buddy looked back from Maka to Kim, his eyes wide.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing." He said at last. There was a loud, metallic clatter from down the hall followed by a coughed apology. The trio was complete when the witch finally emerged from around the corner, still in his medical clothing.

"Hey." He said casually as he grabbed Buddy by the arm and began to walk away, "I'm borrowing this."

The poor homunculus struggled against the hold for a moment, trying to dig his feet into the smooth tiling, before finally giving up and letting the witch drag him away. Maka shook her head, how could she have expected anything different when the witch finally woke up? She and Kim followed at a brisk pace, trying to keep up with the nearly bouncing witch.

"Idiot is gonna tear his insides up if he doesn't calm down." Kim grumbled as she and Maka tailed the duo. Maka nodded absent-mindedly, more focused on staying undetected than anything else. After a couple corridors, they came to a dead end, the pair nowhere in sight. If the witch was trying to hide, he was doing an awful job at it, the only door in the corridor was to a storage closet that had muffled voices escaping underneath the frame.

"I'll give you three seconds to explain yourself." Came the hissed threat of the witch.

"You were a threat to both the city, others, and yourself and it was the only way to stop you." Buddy replied, completely sure of himself. There was a few moments pause before and response came.

"Fair enough. How much do you have left?" The defeated witch finally managed, his anger dissipated.

"About half." Buddy replied.

"That's not nearly enough."

"Well... There's always the chance that-"

"No. Bad, awful, terrible idea." The witch interjected both quickly and frantically. Her patience worn thin, Maka heaved the door open revealing the two arguing boys standing under the flickering light bulb in the cupboard-like space.

"What's a bad idea?" She asked, both inquisitively and forcefully as her eyes darted between the two. Buddy slapped a hand over his mouth in surprise and the witch lifted his right hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. With the movement, the upper edges of his hospital shirt rustled out of place, revealing darkened skin underneath. Maka leaned in, her interest's peeked at the sight of the discolored skin. With the tip of her index finger, she swept the other side of the shirt away peeking in at the skin underneath. The witch flinched at the feeling of a cold finger lightly slipping over his skin, his hand shooting away from his face as he coughed out in complaint. He shushed himself when he saw what had drawn her attention.

"We didn't notice this before." She said plainly as she prodded the shallow dents in his skin. He quickly swatted away her hands and buttoned the top of the shirt, mumbling complaints to himself about it. Maka turned to Kim, an inquisitive look on her face.

"Didn't really make anything of it, I was too busy worrying about the whole 'bones being basically dust' thing to really pay attention to it." She said defensively. Maka turned back towards the two who had filed out of the storage room. Buddy stood to the side, waiting expectantly, while the witch grumbled, leaning against the wall.

"Don't look at me, I just woke up." The witch mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck. Buddy stared back at Maka, ready for the obvious question.

"Anything you care to share?" She said finally.

"Well, the gray spots are there because of the way I brought him out of his trance." Buddy said carefully, gauging the witch's response to his words. With a grim nod, the witch accepted Buddy's answer as acceptable.

"'Only half left.', were you two talking about that liquid from earlier?" Maka asked, audibly connecting the dots in her head. The witch stiffened at the mention of the liquid, his calm demeanor shattered by the question.

"I'll take that as a yes then." Maka said as she turned back towards Buddy, expecting more of an expectation.

"The 'liquid' is-" Buddy began before the witch's hand roughly slapped over his mouth, cutting off any form of communication.

"None of your concern." The witch finished, his eyes fierce. "Now if you don't mind, I'm hungry and my body is sore, would it be too much trouble to go for a walk and get something to eat?"

Maka waited for a moment, debating whether or not to press the issue before turning her back to the two and strutting away.

"Alright, we were planning on going out anyway." She said as she motioned for them to follow. Kim glanced back at the two, her mouth crinkling into a small frown before turning and trotting quickly after Maka. The witch waited until they were safely out of hearing range before turning back to Buddy.

"Don't say anything about this, we still don't know anything about them or what they plan on doing with us." The witch said darkly. Buddy opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced quickly by the witch holding up his hand.

"Not a word."

* * *

><p>The witch stretched periodically throughout their walk, trying to limber up his aching body while secretly inspecting the city's current state as they went. The damage had been mostly superficial and easy to fix, it was only treated so carefully in order to put the whole event out of the citizen's heads. It seemed odd to the witch that nothing had ever attempted a full-scale assault on the city, granted it was suicide but he had expected that someone had to have been foolish enough to at least attempt the stunt. It occurred to him that he didn't know much about shibusen besides the standard fear and hate propaganda that was so pervasive in the witch's realm, even though he had never spent any time there. He chuckles to himself quietly, he knows so little about the places that he is supposed to be so informed about, yet he infiltrated the both of them so nonchalantly.<p>

It was an odd feeling, the people in Death city were more ambivalent than violent to him, even though they should hate him, while the witch realm wanted his head on a stake. Granted, the people of Shibusen didn't know anything about the things he had done or what he was, but still the difference between the two was present. The rest of the group had joined them throughout their trip and they talked animatedly amongst themselves, letting him trail behind them harmlessly. To his surprise, Buddy actively participated in the jokes and debates that came up. When Buddy did turn around to check on him, the witch quirked an eyebrow, silently asking for an explanation, the only response Buddy gave was a shrug. The only ones in the group who consistently spied back at him were pigtails and stripes. He had learned their names throughout the bits and pieces of conversation that he actually paid attention to, but he preferred the nicknames he had dubbed them with.

The group continued on in their joking as the witch silently thought and planned to himself. He still had to get the hell out, but the problem really stuck in the fact of when and if he even could run away. If he had to leave Buddy behind, so be it, he would be safer and happier here than he could ever possibly be traveling with the witch, but that didn't rule out the fact that he was still recovering from the ass-whooping that the worthless shade had given him. Kim had done excellent work in healing his physical form; and after waking up, his passive regeneration began to kick into overdrive. He was optimistically hoping to reach his peak physical form in a couple days; but he mentally lingered in the depths of his mind. The only reason he was able to function at all was his intrigue over the strange room. A doorway to his past, something maybe not physical, but definitely real. Besides that, his mind was hardly rooted in the waking world, and his body was still inexcusably tired, despite over a week of rest.

He found himself so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed the others calling for him. He had walked straight past the restaurant that they had all begun to turn into. With a sigh he turned around, walking into a restaurant that was more... civilized than the one he had previously chosen. He sat down quietly, positioning himself in the corner with his back to the wall. He quickly scanned the menu, he made a mental note about the dishes that interested him. With the food decision out of the way, he peeked up over the menu, looking at the rest of the group and listening into their conversation.

"Can he hear a word we're saying?" pigtails laughed as she asked Buddy. The witch couldn't tell whether to smile or frown at the statement, a few seconds earlier and the truth would have been an absolute no. Buddy shrugged as he placed his menu down.

"He's not... good... with groups." He slowly said, scratching at his chin as he glanced back at the witch. The witch quickly realized that his eyes were visible over the menu and slowly slid his head down, hiding behind the thin paper.

"He doesn't seem good with people in general." spikes said, practically bouncing in his seat as the waitress came closer.

"That's actually closer to the truth." Buddy murmured as he took a sip from his drink. The waitress hopped up to their table, ready for orders. By the time Black*Star, Soul and the witch finished with their orders, the waitress was holding a handful of slips and had cleaned out her first half-empty pen of ink. She walked back towards the kitchen, the hop in her step diminished significantly.

The witch yawned as he leaned back in his seat, his menu 'cover' now gone. He glanced around the room absently, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw something. Daren, plain as day, sitting across the restaurant and staring back at him. He turned away and rubbed his eyes. He took a deep breath before turning back towards the spot, fully prepared to pounce and strike. To his confusion, Daren was gone and in his place was a nervous looking man that glanced back and forth between him and his lunch partner awkwardly.

"That is downright strange." said a figure hovering strangely close to the witch. The boy glanced up, his mind still focused on Daren, nearly flinching out of his seat when he saw the figure. His double was standing right next to him, smiling his unsettlingly demented grin down at him.

"What are you doing?"

The witch turned awkwardly towards the group, his face plastered with an obviously forced smile.

"Nothing!" He said much too quickly, standing out of his chair so fast he nearly tipped it over. "Just have to take care of something quick."

A sprint to the nearest empty room wasn't exactly what he would call inconspicuous, but that felt irrelevant at that point.

"This isn't happening, I'm losing my mind." He said quietly to himself as he closed the door behind him. A Storage room... again. Hopefully, this confined space offered more privacy than the last one.

"Of course you're not, How can you lose something that you never had in the first place!" The double gleefully cried, bursting out of the shadows. The double swayed to and fro, seemingly intoxicated by his newfound freedom. "Man, this isn't as good as controlling a body, but man is it fun!"

"You were locked up, I locked you up!"

"Not good enough, apparently." The double said, jumping up and floating through the air. "By the way. How did you like that little trick before?"

The witch grit his teeth, he wished the double had a corporeal form so he could punch him.

"So that was you? Are you going to just start screwing with me all the time now?" He said, his anger seeping into his speech.

"Oh, tsk tsk tsk." The double cooed, landing softly on a shelf. "You really think I've only just begun messing in that squishy brain of yours? You are an unobservant sod, aren't you?"

The witch's arms shot out involuntarily, his hands grasping at the spot where the shadow should have been. Instead, the double merely faded away, leaving empty space before him. He nearly howled, catching himself just before the guttural noise could escape his throat, resulting in an almost heinous, feral growl.

"You might want to get those anger issues under control there, buddy. Wouldn't want to lose control again, would we?" the double mocked, leaning against a crate in the corner.

The witch ran his fingers through his mop of hair, angrily forcing himself to take deep even breaths.

"Self-control? When did you learn that trick?" the double prodded. The witch frowned but refused to answer, refused to give that despicable shadow the pleasure.

"Aw. What do I have to do to make it up to you, mr. Grumpy pants?" the double said, speaking to him in the most childish voice imaginable. With a small frown and the snap of his fingers, the double proofed away in a flash of purple smoke. The witch breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to exit the room, rubbing the dreariness from his eyes. His hand reached out in front of him, grasping for the doorknob but instead found something significantly... Squishier.

"Oh my, cheekier than I remember."

The witch's eyes shot open in surprise to see his hand secured around something that was definitely not the doorknob he had been reaching for. The body was that of the magical cat/girl he had had the pleasure/displeasure of meeting in the apartment, but the voice was unmistakably the doubles.

"Remember well boy, you will always be my little plaything." The double said darkly. With a swat of his hand, the double removed the witch's hand and returned to his normal form.

"So that was you." the witch breathed, hoping beyond hope that that was the only time that it had altered his reality in the near past.

As if reading his mind (though that was a distinct possibility), the double shifted again. This time, the double took the form of something much shorter and much more detestable.

"What would your mother say about your terrible detection skills?" the double's voice mocked while Daren's face sneered. The witch's mind racing.

"Why? What could you possibly gain from this?" he asked, his voice hushed to near silence. The double laughed cruelly while melting back to his true form.

"Why would I need a reason? I just do it for kicks!" he snickered, circling the confused witch.

"No, not that." the witch said as he waved the idea away. "I'm used to you screwing with me by now. I want to know why you're exposing yourself like this, why you're involving yourself."

The double's faced dropped as it realized its mistake. The witch was not hurt or upset, something so petty wouldn't- couldn't- cause that much annoyance or pain; he was something extremely dangerous to the double. Focused and intrigued.

"Status quo must've changed significantly in order for you to do something this reckless. I mean really, flat out telling me that you can do this anytime you want is stupid. Even for you," the witch thought out loud, pacing the room. His mind narrowing in on an idea. His face broke out in a wide grin, the answer clear in his mind.

"You slipped up, you needed to do something to cover your tracks, something to distract me!" the witch said with glee as he rubbed his hands together, "You threw me so deep into my own subconscious that I found something you never wanted me to find."

The double fumed in silent rage, his form flickering from his anger alone.

"You gave me a handhold. You gave me that memory." the witch was almost shivering, the possibility finally becoming real in his mind.

"I didn't give you anything you annoying little twit. You ripped it out of my possession." the double hissed. The witch shrugged it off, to focused on his train of thought to care.

"Unimportant. All that matters now is the fact that I have it and you can't do anything about it."

"You willing to bet on that?" the double asked grimly, "I will do whatever it takes, even if that means I have to pry it out of your feeble, broken mind."

The witch turned himself away from his own personal glee and focused intently on the twisted demon.

"Fair enough, but until that happens, I remain in complete control here. Now, go." the witch held the double in his icy glare for a moment more before it vanished into a cloud of dark smoke.

The witch breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that that had actually worked. He had control of the memory, a small gateway to his past, but he had no clue how to actually use it. He quietly opened the door and began his walk back to the table, happy to let the subject rest for the time being.

"If you had to use the bathroom, you could have just said so." Black*star mocked, already digging into his mountain of food. The witch grunted in reply, taking his seat at the table. He picked up some food and began to gnaw at it, not truly focused or committed to the action. As unfocused as he was, he still managed to make it through five plates with ease. He was finally letting himself relax when pigtail girl dropped the bombshell.

"So what was that liquid anyway?" She said nonchalantly, locking eyes with him. The witch stopped just before taking a bite from his food. He looked around the table at the mass of now expectant meisters and weapons.

"Huh." He managed, placing his food back down on his plate. He doubted he could sidestep the question and knew that running away would be anything but inconspicuous. He cleared his throat, wondering exactly how he could explain it.

"It's blood." Buddy cut in. Everyone's expression's changed immediately. Buddy sat with a strange look on his face, not quite sure why he had said it. The witch had an inkling; either he wanted to be honest with the people he now believed to be friends or he was trying to save the witch from awkwardly beating around the bush. Each made his action endearing if not pitifully under planned. The witch leaned forward in his chair, placing his head firmly in his hands.

"Dammit, Buddy." He breathed. Despite the oncoming questions that would be almost painful to answer, he could barely keep himself from laughing at the homunculus' lack of subtlety.

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. Could you repeat that." Soul said carefully. Buddy shifted uneasily, suddenly regretting his outburst.

"No, you heard him right." The witch said casually, putting himself back in an upright position. Buddy sighed, thankful that someone else had stepped in for him. There were the expected general scoffs and mumbles of dissent, along with harsh looks.

"Let me get this straight." Kim said leaning forward in her seat, her eyes fixated on the witch. "You bleed some poor chump to meet your own ends. Exactly who do you drain? and for what purpose?"

The witch reached for his glass, his face a calm mask. He took a tentative sip, as he looked around the table. The corner of his lips began to curl ever so slightly before he burst out laughing. Kim shot out of her seat, the rage visible on her face.

"Don't treat this like a joke. You're draining some poor, innocent -" She began before the witch broke in, hardly able to get a word out between his cackling.

"I'm the poor chump!" He coughed, on the brink of tears from all the laughing. "I'm obviously not going to tell you all why I need the blood. But just to put your consciences to rest, no 'poor, innocent chumps' are being hurt in the process."

The reversal was enough to seat Kim back in her seat and get the rest to calm themselves somewhat, at least enough for the witch to have a moment to breathe. He downed his glass before turning his attention back to them.

"That 'liquid' is my blood. Granted its been condensed and altered; but my blood, all the same." the witch said calmly. The group was still uneasy, but they were much less aggressive towards him.

"What exactly does 'altered' mean?" Kim asked. The witch settled into his chair.

"You sure do ask a lot of questions." he noted absently. "I'm not going into details with you, but I do add my own special mix of spices in the batch."

"So, what's so hard about getting more?"

"I have to collect it under very specific, very dangerous situations; also, you know how I said 'condensed'? That vial took about ten whole drains to fill." the witch said tiredly, his head flopping onto his shoulder.

"'Drains' meaning?"

"Bleed outs, basically wringing out my body to get every last drop." the witch said, shuddering at the thought. There was a lull at the table as it sunk in.

"Well, shit." Black*Star said simply, summarizing everyone's thoughts effectively.

"Oh, don't worry, it's a lot more painful than it sounds." The witch said with a sinister grin. With their delightful conversation over and a burden lifted off the his shoulders, the witch began to dig into his food; now, probably, the only one who still had an appetite. They soon left the restaurant as a group, the mood slightly dampened but not necessarily killed. To his abundant glee, the conversation had moved into the territory of the reconstruction efforts. He had already figured out or assumed a great deal of things that they discussed, though he did catch snippets of useful information.

* * *

><p>The witch followed the group as it slowly began to dwindle away. Kim and her partner departed with smiles at the rest of the group and a burning glare at him. Black*Star and his partner departed with loud noises which could've been either singing or something akin to a blow horn being thrown through a woodchipper. The striped boy and his partners departed with pleasantries and something about symmetry and giraffes. The four who remained strolled in silence, both out of exhaustion or a lack of conversation material. The witch had no clue where they were going, but he sincerely hoped that it boasted a bed or perhaps a comfortable section of flooring.<p>

To his dull, sleepy surprise, they stopped in front of the apartments. He guessed that staying in their apartment instead of the dispensary beds was a step up, he'd take warm couch over sterile bed any day. The walked through the doorway and up the stairs, though the witch could've sworn that they had stopped one level earlier the last time. Buddy, of all people, pulled out a key and unlocked the door in front of them, before turning around and saying goodbye to the pair behind them.

The witch looked between all three of them, his sleepiness now only matched by his confusion.

"Your apartment, mostly." Maka explained, speaking (thankfully) slowly for his tired mind. "Contrary to what you might think, our world doesn't revolve around you. Granted we can't leave you completely on your own, so this is the middle ground that we finally decided on. It was Buddy's idea actually."

The witch turned back to the homunculus who smiled sheepishly, the door to their apartment already half way open. The witch's mouth broke from what had been a consistent thin line into a wide, toothy grin, already jittery at the idea of a nice, warm, comfortable bed waiting for him.

He assumes that the pair departs, but he can't be completely sure due to the fact that he is already stumbling forward into the nice cool, but not chilly, apartment. Buddy grabs him by the shoulders and redirects his aimless shamblings towards a doorway. He hums happily to himself, bumping the door open with his shoulder, simply because he couldn't be bothered to actually use his arms.

The bed already woefully in his line of sight, the witch flopped happily onto the top of the covers, nestling into the beds warm embrace. He notes the fact that he is still wearing the hospital garbs, though he can't find reason to complain. The clothes are comfy enough; and even if he wanted to, he's not sure he could find a way to coax his body out of bed.

He sighs contentedly as his eyes close slowly. Maybe they're not so bad, is the last thing he has the ability to consciously think before drifting away to sleep.

* * *

><p>Not-Story-Crap:<p>

Update = me getting off of my lazy ass and writing, all patience you give is much appreciated and almost guaranteed to be mistreated/misused.

Thanks for any notes you make on it, your help is much appreciated.


	16. A Quiet Confession

The witch sat at a counter somewhere in the city, sipping from a warm cup of coffee and absently nodding along to an ongoing conversation. He had slept like the dead, gotten a warm shower, and was wearing relatively clean clothes. By all rights, he should be over the moon about the situation, but he couldn't help but feel like this was the exact moment that 'the shoe would drop' and ruin the whole thing. The linoleum of the small diner felt great against his bare feet, the coolness very welcome in the morning heat.

The witch put down his mug and stretched a little more, his soreness basically vanished after a nice night in a bed. As he stretched his shoulder he glanced around their merry band. He wasn't quite sure how they could be so annoyingly upbeat or even aware so early in the morning, he could've sworn that the sun had just barely begun to rise that morning when that pigtailed girl was already banging on their door and telling them that they were late. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who felt that way because so far the only people who had gathered were pigtails, ponytail, Buddy and his sleepy-ass. He found it surprising that the girl who dragged him here was so ambivalent about her own partner not showing up yet. But he was content with waiting around, as long as that meant putting off actually work that much longer.

Working on somebody else's schedule had never suited him in the past, but he felt that they deserve a chance in exchange for the lovely bed that they gave him and for not murdering him in his sleep. The coffee was a real aide in giving him the ability to understand human languages and form competent thoughts every once in awhile. After he downed what might've been his sixth cup he flagged over a waitress, who nervously glanced at the other two girls, all three of the women desperately tried to gauge if he was kidding or not.

"You've had coffee before, right?" Maka asked, one of her eyebrows raised inquisitively as the witch got a refill from a slightly reluctant waitress.

"I've had caffeine before." The witch grunted. The girl looked nervously at the waitress before nodding.

"They have a kind of... special blend, for extra kick. Maybe you should tone it down a little?" She suggested carefully as the waitress walked away.

"Nah, I'm fine, how bad could it be?" was the only, and subsequently, best response he was able to come up with, accompanying the idea with a noncommittal shrug.

After the rest of the group finally decided to show up and they began to make their way through the city, specifically the rubbly areas, he began to realize just 'how bad' it could be. He began to notice the base of his skull tingling while at the first rebuild site; he was used to his body being a little out of whack, especially after having to get put together by means of superglue and luck, so he marked that up to his regenerative powers deciding whether 'remembering how to breath' was necessary or not. By the second building site, he could feel his eyes twitching and his hair growing; not to mention, the little orb of light that was oh so wonderful at cleaning up messes began to bounce and blink like a rabid strobe light. After the third rebuilding site, he knew there was a serious problem. There were far too many children crying and asking their parents 'why is the strange man shaking like that?" and he was beginning to wonder why his left arm was numb. Since his regenerative powers were apparently on the fritz, the witch settled for praying for some kind of cure from caffeine poisoning. He couldn't exactly describe how he was feeling in one word, but he felt it could be adequately surmised with 'shaking like a Parkinson's patient on a tilt-a-whirl during an earthquake and jacked up like a kid high on sugar, heroin, and some form of kryptonite'. He normally only had to worry about his double screwing with his differentiation between reality and fantasy, but apparently he had done a swell job of screwing up that brain function all on his own. His energies levels had never been higher, ever. Also. He had somehow gained the ability to summon multiple green orbs at the last site and they zoomed around like little blue copyrighted hedgehogs, fixing the broken bits at mind numbing speeds. He couldn't tell if he wanted to sit down for a break or not because his legs alternated between numb and filled with enough electricity to power a small country.

The rest of the group rested under some nice shade while he fidgeted and paced the area. He was glad to be such an entertainment to everybody else, who found his erratic twitching so friggin funny.

"How much did he have?" Kid asked quietly, though he might as well have used a megaphone thanks to the witch's sudden hauntingly powerful hearing.

"Double Digits... I think." The witch called, staring entranced at a very confused squirrel.

"If you're having that much trouble, we could find Kim." tsubaki suggested. The witch nodded along to the idea, an actual challenge to achieve due to the fact that his head was constantly bobbing. Luckily, they had a reason to go to the DWMA and were able to depart quickly, though he suspected that a couple of them would've loved to keep him in his jittery purgatory another hour.

The entire group began to stroll down the street, except for the witch whose legs resembled something akin to an irish jig. There was a faint crashing of metal off to his left and the witch was able to turn just in time to see the double; at least, he thought it was the double.

He looked like a poorly received TV program, fading in and out, his image blurred, and deteriorating into a fuzzy haze, half his words drowned out with static.

The only words he could vaguely understand translated into some kind of threat; but that only made the spectacle all the more pleasing to him, since the upper half of his body was phasing through a wall. He started to laugh maniacally, overjoyed at their apparently shared discomfort. Apparently, the sight of him laughing in an insane manner at blank brick wall elicited a suddenly increased need to get him help, because the group picked up their pace considerably.

The journey to the DWMA quickly dissolved into the rest of the group trying to drag the witch to the institution. The witch resisted their hold as he began to like the feeling. his feet knocked against the ground, slowing all progress towards the school. He didn't care all that much any more, he just wanted to giggle at the clouds.

* * *

><p>"This is new." Buddy managed to say while ducking under an unexpected kick. The witch's heels were torn up horribly from constantly bashing against the cobblestone streets, but that did little to impede their constant surprise attacks.<p>

"What? Him doing something stupid?" Soul grunted as the witch twitched under his arm.

"No, that's kind of the norm by now." Buddy admitted, "I mean him being so... Out of control."

"He seemed pretty 'out of control' when he tried to slice up half the school." Soul grunted, smacking the witch upside his lolling head.

Buddy winced at the reminder.

"Bit different circumstances." he claimed as he grabbed at one of the flailing feet, "I mean I've never seen him so out of it while 'himself'. He's not always the smartest about his plans, but there is usually some method or even reason to his madness."

The group pondered that in relative silence until they finally reached the DWMA. Their couple minute walk blown into a half hour event thanks to the witch's struggles. Soul began to heave the witch up the first step when a surprise spin from the witch threw him off balance, sending both of them tumbling down.

Soul groaned on the ground and was about to make an impolite comment when he noticed the witch was lying nearly completely still.

"Did he just knock himself unconscious?" Maka asked, prodding the witch's head with the tip of her boot.

"Well, if it works." Buddy said with a shrug. Soul glared angrily up at him.

"You mean we could have DONE THIS FROM THE START!?" he howled in frustration. He began to string along a complicated and almost artistic string of expletives when a moan from the incapacitated witch brought him out of his tirade. He nudged the witch in the side with his shoe before stooping down and looping an arm over his shoulder.

"Whatever." he grumbled. Luckily, the witch stayed in his comatose state for the entire flight of stairs and nearly to the library. When he began to moan Soul 'accidently' dropped him again, effectively knocking him out long enough to drag his body into the library and plop it up on one of the tables.

"Just make sure he doesn't go anywhere. I'm going to go find Kim." Maka said as she began to look around some of the shelves. Buddy hopped up onto the table next to the witch, his legs swinging back and forth underneath him. Soul gave a sidelong glance at the unconscious witch and briefly contemplated whether or not to shove him off of the table. Before he could make up his mind, the witch twitched violently and shoved a large stack of books off of the table. Soul grumbled as he leaned down to pick them up and was immediately rewarded with a knock over the head, thanks to another one of the witch's twitches. He growled at the completely oblivious witch, more to vent his frustration than out of actual threat, and Buddy subconsciously scooched in between them.

"How does he manage to be annoying while he isn't even awake?" Soul grumbled returning to the task of picking up books. He began to wonder why he was doing it alone when he glanced up and saw Kid fretting endlessly over the 'utter chaos' that the library was in. The 'utter chaos', of course, being the fact that one book was slightly out of line with all the other books on its shelf. Liz was trying to mellow him out and Black*Star and Patty were off laughing hysterically at some comic books that they found. Thing really have gone back to normal, Soul thought with a small smile. He turned back to put the books on the table when his eyes were drawn on the two, still somewhat foreign, figures. mostly.

Soul had just finished piling the books back on the table, out of the witch's reach, when Maka came strolling back with Kim following closely behind.

"Got her." She said, stating the obvious as Kim approached the table reluctantly.

"What are you doing in the library anyway?" Soul asked absently. Kim gave a somewhat conspicuous glance towards the witch before responding.

"Just researching some old things." She answered vaguely, rolling up her sleeves. Buddy shifted uncomfortably and slowly moved away from the witch. Kim nodded appreciatively and put her hand on the witch's chest. Nothing happened for a couple moments, then there was a short sizzle sound and the witch basically shot off of the table.

He burst out in a stream of expletives, barely able to stay on his feet, until he finally toppled back against the table and slid to the ground. Soul groaned as the jolt knocked the carefully arranged stack of books back off of the table.

"No more coffee." He groaned, bring his hands up to his face. "Ever."

Buddy helped him up, muttering agreement. Kim rolled her sleeves back down, eyeing the rest of the group.

"Did any of you ask yet?" She questioned, taking a seat next to the shaky witch. The silence was response enough for a resounding 'no'.

"Ask about what?" The witch asked, leaning against the worn wooden table.

"They wanted to know more information, but they wanted to be very careful about it. Personally, I would rather have curiosity kill the cat before you manage to off yourself."

"What do you want to know?' They witch asked with an obviously forced grin.

"Oh, no. No more of that." Kim said, gritting her teeth. "I heard about these little Q&A's that you just love to hold. No more of that, I won't have you crippling our investigation with your ridiculous issue dodging."

The witch physically flinched at the last few words, not-so-subtly withdrawing from Kim.

"Alright fine... Can I at least get some hint as to what broad topic you would like me to stick to?"

"What exactly happened? The night of the attack I mean." Maka asked, slightly upset but secretly relieved over Kim's bluntness. The witch groaned and put his head in his hands again. He silently cursed, but Maka let that slide.

"That... thing... you know the cartoons where there are a devil and angel on the shoulder of some idiot? that's my devil." He said. From the way he spoke, it was like some of the words were as painful as acid rolling off of his tongue.

"You seem to be lacking one angel." Maka observed. The witch folded his hands in front of him and let out a distasteful snort out of his nose.

"He... comes and goes, he's not so much an 'angel' as he is an arguably-helpful advice giver. The devil, on the other hand, likes to stick around. He is the perpetual thorn in my side, except instead of a thorn he prefers to act like a damn guillotine."

"So you're saying that the sadistic psychopath that tried his damn hardest to tear meisters and weapons apart can just pop into your meat suit and stroll through the town whenever he pleases?" Soul growled. The possibility of a repeat of that night sent a collective shiver down everyone's spines.

"That is not what I'm saying at all. He likes to stick around in my head, poking at the squishy bits until he can find a way to make them pop. He wasn't targeting the meisters or weapons, at least not directly. He was sending a message." The witch said, his thumbs twiddling anxiously.

"A message to the DWMA?" Kid asked, suddenly anxious himself over the possible threat to what was essentially his home.

"To me. He's a petty bastard, putting me through my own personal hell was probably like a drug to him. And he can't just 'jump into my meat suit' whenever he feels like; despite what you might think, I actually have a pretty firm grip on the situation."

"Then please, explain how the situation ran away from you that night." Kim said, flashing an unsettling grin.

"Well, that was... a slip-up." The witch begrudgingly admitted.

"You call that catastrophe a slip-up?" Soul accused, the witch recoiled once again.

"There were a lot of outside factors leading up to it, alright? First the sickness, then imprisonment. I thought you were going to kill me - granted I can't die, but it still would've hurt. Not to mention the fact that that little runt Daren was involved-" The witch tried to defend himself before slowing to a stop.

"What exactly are you two fighting about? I would've thought you would be best friends." Kim jested. The witch's head turned mechanically towards her, his face plastered with an intense glare.

"Don't compare me to him." He seethed through his teeth.

"Strange, you're so alike. I would've assumed you'd be friends, what with your rankings." The witch silently glared at her, the edge of his mouth coming up in a snarl.

"Rankings?" Tsubaki chirped, clumsily changing the subject.

"No one really keeps all that much track of them anymore, but both our friend her and Daren managed to place in the top ten." Kim replied, her eyes never leaving the witch.

"Daren is on a witch rankings list?" Maka said, suddenly more interested in the conversation.

"It's more of a global list, includes all kinds of things. Even had a kishin in the rankings for awhile." Kim explained. "Daren was in ninth place, under destruction and terror."

"In the future, it would be great if you could inform the school about things like this. Maybe then they won't accidently let a terrorist onto school grounds." Maka said evenly. Kim raised her hands defensively.

"Sorry! I don't know what will or won't be important and there is a lot of things I'm not supposed to go into detail over. Besides, you have ranking number six right in front of you!"

Everyone in the group paused for a moment to cast a glance at the witch, who was shoving his head into his hands once again.

"Thanks for that, I'm sure that makes everybody much more comfortable with me around." He sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"You are rated as the sixth biggest terrorist, on a board by witches?" Soul asked, more curious than anything.

"I've been downgraded to seventh the last time I checked, thank you very much. Besides, most of the stuff I got blamed for was actually Daren's fault! Also, destroying that city was an accident!" He said, doing his best to defend himself.

"You destroyed an entire city? How do you manage that by accident?" Kim asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I swear, you mistranslate one word and you never live it down."

"His speciality of magic is in 'ancient spells'." Kim clarified.

"I'm still pissed over that one." The witch fumed, "I spent two weeks digging into that god forsaken hole, finally found an only mildly damaged relic, brought it back up to the surface, pored over my research papers for countless hours. Then when the time finally comes for me to test it, It literally blows up in my face."

The witch's foot knocked against something on the ground that made him jump. He looked down just to see his bag, half-hidden under the table. With a small smile he dragged it off of the floor and onto the table. The glistening buckles loosened with a barely noticeable hiss as the witch began to rummage.

"We weren't quite sure what to do with that, we didn't go through it." Maka said, adding the latter half reassuringly.

"Trust me, if you had tried to through my bag, I would've noticed." The witch said casually as he rummaged, his arm reaching concerningly far into a seemingly tiny container. "There would be a sizeable crater somewhere around here."

"I think I'm beginning to understand why you're highly ranked on a list specializing in destruction."

The witch glanced up, a troubled expression on his face, something between a pout and despondent frown.

"I boobytrap my stuff for a reason. I deal with very old, very powerful spells, one of which can level a city without much effort. Do you really want that to be unguarded against a majority of the witches out there?" The witch finished his question with a grunt as he pulled out a leather bound book the size of a phone book.

The witch flipped through the pages, most of which were undecipherable walls of glyphs and hand drawn images, until he was somewhere close to halfway through the tome.

"Ah!" he said, a look of recognition spreading across his face. "Here it is!"

Kim leaned over and peered at the page, her look more and more troubled as she breezed over the page.

"You understand it, Kim?" Maka asked, completely unsure of what anything might mean.

"um... maybe half? This is kind of out of my league." She said. The witch's finger, which had been trailing along a line in the book, stopped abruptly. His head jumped up quickly and swiveled towards Kim, his smile one of the most smug things Soul had ever seen.

"If you keep that face, I'll freeze it that way." Kim warned without even looking up from the page. The witch shrugged and turned back to the group.

"This is my fourth journal." He said, "Each one is filled with things I would prefer not get in the hands of... questionable individuals."

"Huh, you're actually smarter than you look." Soul said absently, sneaking a peek at the book. The witch's face scrunched up as he thought for a moment.

"... Thanks, I guess." He said. The witch turned back to his knapsack, reaching an arm inside, then two, then his head. Soon, the witch's entire body was crammed into the impossibly small space.

"Should we be... worried?" Tsubaki finally ventured as one of the witch's legs began to draw into the bag.

"I'm fine!" The witch reassured, the rest of his body disappeared into the bag in a flash and after a moment his head poked out through the opening. "Just checking for some things."

"How, exactly?"

"Space manipulation?" Kim guessed, pulling at one of the edges of the bag. "Depending on the level, you can fit everything but the kitchen sink."

"Oh, I'm sure I have one of those in here somewhere." The witch laughed, ducking back inside. Three more bricks of leather and words shuffled out of the bag, each hitting the ground with a near devastating Thunk.

Maka grabbed at the one labeled 'volume one', opening to the first page. She was somewhat surprised to see it written in what appeared to be crayon with a few of the words misspelled.

"Exactly how long have you been doing this?" She asked as she continued further into the book, the information in it becoming more coherent and in-depth.

"Long time." the witch said, climbing out of the bag. "You would not believe how hard it is to get your hands on decent information. I've had to work off of guesses and rumors most of the time."

There was an awkward quiet until Black*Star leaned closer to Soul.

"When do you think he's going to notice?" He jeered, just loud enough for the witch to overhear. The witch's eyes crinkled in confusion until he looked around. For a second, Soul was worried they had broken the poor bastard, with the way his eyes glazed over and his jaw dropped to his knees.

"Ah!" he yelped, startling the group. He basically jumped away from the table but was clotheslined by Kim. The witch fell onto his back and Kim's foot came down to rest on his sternum, pinning him in place.

"Not so fast." Kim said evenly with a hint of satisfaction, taking a little too much joy out of restraining the witch.

"Please! Just... ten books, that's all!" The witch whined like a child, resisting against the hold until Kim's heel dug slightly more into his chest.

"What's that worth to you?" Kim wondered out loud, the edges of her mouth twitching into a smile. The witch thought for a moment before answering.

"One question, no holds barred." The witch said with finality.

"Hey, hold on a second." Kim said, her happiness turning to discomfort. "That's not a good idea."

"Do we have a deal?" The witch asked excitedly, actively ignoring Kim's complaints. Soul could tell that Maka's head was going into overdrive already, and he already knew everything she was trying to work out. They had a lot of one-of-a-kind books, not to mention invaluable first-editions. On the other hand, getting one question, of any sort, answered by the witch with no fussing or side tracking would be worth quite a bit.

"Five." Maka finally offered, she gave a sidelong glance at Kid who nodded approval. The witch giggled as he brushed Kim's foot away, already glancing around at the nearest bookshelves.

"History, Magic, anything like that?" He asked urgently, his whole body jittering with excitement. Kim gave an annoyed huff as she pointed to a shelf right next to the group. The witch leapt onto the nearest ladder, already scanning the spines.

"You guys don't seem all that worried over the fact that I've got... something... inside of me that goes crazy every once in a while." The witch muttered, snatching a particularly thick book off of the bookshelf.

"Been there, done that." Black*Star chortled from the ground, leafing through another comic book.

"Huh?" The witch turned from the book, a look of slight confusion on his face.

Soul felt all eyes turn to him. He sighed, not quite surprised but far from happy.

"Yo." He said with a wave, he rolled up one of his sleeves and tapped his wrist. "Black blood, got a little demon in me too."

"That's... interesting." He said after a short pause, his brow furrowing. "Is there a club that I have to join or...?"

"I really hope not." Soul muttered. The witch shrugged and went back to his book.

"How do you always manage to drag everything off topic?" Maka questioned, more curious than actually upset, as she began to leaf through the text once more.

"Stream of conscious thought. Works great for working on analytical problems in my head, not so great for standard conversation or questioning." The witch said, not even glancing up from the book. It occurred to Soul that now that they had one free, unavoidable question, he had no idea what they should ask.

"Do we have to ask now, or can we do it after deciding?" He asked, the witch waved him off.

"Feel free to discuss, I'm in no hurry."

The witch leafed through a few more tomes before finally bringing a handful down to the table.

"These." He said, trying to suppress a grin. Maka view over them quickly, deciding that they weren't too much of a loss, at least she knew he would take proper care of them. The witch was clearly eager to start going in depth with them, already shoveling the pile of books into his bag, along with his other journals.

"Wait." She said, as she finished looking over the last of the witch's choices. "There are only four books here."

"Oh, that's right." The witch said, snatching the book out of her hand. "I also want a copy of the school directory."

* * *

><p>The witch smiled, greatly pleased with himself. Despite the awful beginning, he didn't think the day could have turned out more perfectly. Not only had he gotten four gold mines of information, but with much convincing, he had talked them into letting him have a copy of the school directory. He wasn't hoping for much, which was great because they gave him even less than he hoped. Just a bare bones list of names in a shockingly thin folder.<p>

It wasn't too much of a loss, he had taken his decrepit computer out of his bag and scanned through the entirety of the list. The DWMA was not known for its subtleties in most things, so finding info on a majority of both the students and staff had been relatively simple. He finished writing up a summary of the last on the list, finally ending nearly two hours worth of work. He sighed as he closed the worn screen.

"Why do you rile them up like that?" Buddy asked, adding the finishing touches on the meal he had insisted on making.

"It's a hobby." The witch sidestepped, not wanting to turn the only person he at least thought was on his side.

"What's the point of even having that list?"

"So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss." The witch said as he began to open what he believed to be the third book, the first two already finished and a good deal of new notes added to his existing journals. There was a soft metallic clatter as a plate with food slammed the book shut on his fingers.

"You need to eat. You'll need the nutrients if you want your brain to work properly again." Buddy muttered as he took his place across the table from the witch.

"Huh?" the witch asked, moving the plate and removing his fingers from the book.

"These people are not our enemies." Buddy said plainly.

"Maybe not yours. They just learned I'm on a rankings list for most destructive entities in the world, and they weren't too fond of me before that; just how exactly do you think they'll view me now?" The witch complained to himself, opening the book.

Buddy frowned at his plate, not completely sure how to respond.

"They don't seem like bad people." Buddy started, "Maybe if we just gave them a chance -"

Buddy glanced up to meet the cold, angry eyes of the witch.

"Maybe you're the one who needs their nutrients, is your memory really slipping so much?" He said, his voice dangerously quiet. Buddy started to respond but was cut off.

"I can count on one hand the amount of people I've been able to trust the past couple years, half of whom stabbed me in the back." The witch continued. "Nearly every meister I've ever met has tried to kill me, nearly every witch I've met has tried to kill me, a majority of the humans I've met have tried to kill me. Unlike you, I don't have the luxury of trusting people. Just because they haven't done anything yet, is not proof of them having no desire to stab me in the back too."

The witch raised his fork to his mouth, taking an uncharacteristically small bite off food. Buddy waited for a moment, hoping there was more, but the witch stayed silent. With a sigh, he pushed back from the table.

"Keep that mindset, I'm sure it will help you make dependable allies, or friends, in the future." He said quietly as he brought his meal to his room.

"I don't need allies! That's the point of this!" The witch shouted, slamming his hand down on the book. Buddy shook his head in disgust as the door to his room closed behind him. The witch growled in annoyance, turning his attention back to the book. He read a handful of pages before looking at the rapidly cooling plate of food. He had lost his appetite, looking at the food that Buddy made only gave him pangs of strange guilt. He sighed and brought it to the kitchen, scraping the contents into the bin with a somewhat liquidy thump and putting the emptied plate in the sink. He went back to the table, sliding the computer back into the bag to make room for both his notes and the book.

He didn't enjoy fights with Buddy, but he was far too trusting with strangers. This was a completely different situation entirely, they were damn meisters and weapons! He smacked himself over the back of the head, trying to focus on the work; the last thing he needed was to work himself up over nothing. He buried himself in his notes and the text from the book, taking his mind off of anything else. Eventually, he pried himself away from the pages to check his surroundings. What had once been the golden shimmer of the setting sun was replaced with the cool night sky. A dry desert breeze brushed in through the gaping windows that Buddy had left open to freshen up the room. The papers around the witch ruffled with the wind, one page slipping off of the wooden table and fluttering to the floor.

The witch let out an exasperated sigh as he stood up, collecting the paper from the floor and walking to the open windows. He closed the first pane, locking it and place and began to reach for the second when a glint of light caught his eye. A bead of light was hovering on the glass pane he had just closed and the witch instinctively dived to the ground, just barely missing bludgeoning himself on the arm of a chair by an inch. He laid flat on the ground with his hands protecting the back of his head, his meticulous notes now a crumpled ball of paper. He waited for the window to shatter into broken shards of glass, destroyed by a bullet that would have been meant for him. He forced his breathing to even out as he glanced up, just to see the bead of light disappear. He rolled onto his back, squirming his way closer to the table so he could grab one of his journals and find some spell to deal with the sniper.

The bead of light reappeared in the window, stopping him dead in his tracks. He knew it would do no good, but he held his breath. The light moved around erratically, meaning either that it was an extremely poor sniper (which he took great offense to), or he was wrong about the sniper.

He thought for a moment before taking the risk, waving his hand in the empty air around his head. He breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't explode into a mess of blood and bone shards. The bead of light didn't react in any way, instead it simply vanished for another moment before spontaneously coming back into existence. The witch apprehensively stood, approaching the window despite his survival instincts screaming at him to run in the other direction. The light floated lazily towards him, clearly not a red laser reflecting on glass. He held his hand out for the accidently terrifying firefly to land gently on his palm. It crawled around on his hand for a moment, its light turning on and off randomly.

"Bit out-of-place here, aren't we?" He asked. The bug crawled around his hand, tickling the ends of his fingertips. So are you, the little voice inside him called. The witch ignored the thought, he had work to do, after all. He reached his hand out the window and the firefly took off into the night sky, quickly getting lost in the stars.

The witch closed the second pane of glass and drew the curtains, just in case. He rubbed the curtain in his hand for a moment, enjoying the soft cottony feel of it. The book on the table seemed to call for him, drawing his attention away from his fascination and back towards the table. The witch let out a small sigh as he took his place in the chair once more, the comfortable wood creaking reassuringly under his weight. He pulled the ball of paper from his white-knuckled fist, doing his best to straighten out the abused piece of paper. He reached for the pencil that had rolled just out of place and began to make an acceptable copy of the paper. He examined the intricate glyph on the paper and began to write it out once more.

When he examined the copy, he knit his eyebrows and frowned at the poor quality. The lines were too jagged, not anything like the smooth, curvy original. He looked around a moment before finding the culprit. His hand was shaking. Actually, his whole body was shivering. The witch laughed nervously, leaning back in his chair and draping his jittery arm over his eyes.

He remained in the pose for several minutes, listening to the comforting ticking of the old-fashioned clock on the wall.

"Maybe Buddy's right." He admitted quietly to himself.

* * *

><p>Wow. I say I'm going to try doing more and then I don't update for two months. I'm kind of an asshole.<br>Sorry about that, rewrote two separate parts of this update multiple times before deciding it would work. Luckily, while thinking through how to progress, I got a couple good ideas for what to add in the future, so... yay?


End file.
